SMOKING could soon be banned at sporting grounds, bus stops, playgrounds and the entrance to public buildings under the biggest crackdown on cigarettes by the state government.
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The strict expansion of anti-smoking laws could be in place in a matter of months if the state government passes its bill and those caught flouting the law would face fines of up to $550.
Outdoor dining areas are expected to join the list from 2015.
The extension to sporting grounds would affect a number of venues in Wagga and some worry it could force punters to leave the area to light up.
“It will affect attendance if we start policing it, if you have to leave to have a smoke,” said Southcity Bulls president Gary Crawford.
“What do they have to do, get in their car? There’s no way we could police it at Harris Park or Equex.”
NSW Health currently employs three environmental health officers in Wagga who would enforce the new laws.
Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire, a “reformed chain smoker”, said he will back the anti-smoking bill when it’s introduced to parliament in the coming months, citing the health effects of cigarettes.
A number of Wagga residents yesterday expressed their dismay at the tightening of regulations with some saying society makes smokers out to be bad people. “You feel like you get a look, kind of judgemental looks, if there are non-smokers around,” said Nick Webster.
A statement from the Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, said the government was taking “drastic new measures in a bid to reduce the harm which tobacco imposes on our community”.
“The distress and cost that smoking inflicts on families, and the burden this imposes on NSW’s health system, is simply not acceptable,” Mrs Skinner said.
According to government figures, smoking-related illness accounts for more than 5000 deaths a year in NSW and costs the state economy about $8 billion a year.
