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“
Wagga
Wagga City Council has been commended for standing up for the
protection of children and workers from secondhand smoke, against an
aggressive tobacco industry scare campaign. The
council has adopted proposals
to ban smoking near children’s
playgrounds and council building entrances, and in al fresco
dining areas under council licence. The
move comes after extensive community consultation, and new research
showing huge and increasing public support for all food service areas
to be smokefree. Tobacco
giant British American Tobacco Australasia (BATA) wrote to Wagga Wagga
City councillors last November, opposing the popular smokefree al
fresco move.
In the letter, BATA wrongly claimed that smokefree al fresco
dining would be “potentially crippling” for businesses and
“very difficult” to enforce and was not fully supported by tobacco
control experts. Health
groups including the Heart Foundation and Action on Smoking and Health
(ASH) made submissions to the council’s public consultation,
supporting the proposed measures - backed by a wide range of health,
medical, employee, child protection, church and local government
organisations. Said
Stafford Sanders of ASH, and co-ordinator of the 40-group Protecting
Children from Tobacco coalition and the 11-group SmokeFree Australia
(workplace) coalition: “Wagga
City Council has acted responsibly by rejecting tobacco interference
in sensible health policy. “These
reforms are strongly supported by independent research evidence and by
public opinion. They will help protect people - including children -
from harmful secondhand smoke exposure in public playgrounds and
eating places and near council buildings. “They’ll
also protect people working in these areas from repeated exposure to
toxic and carcinogenic fumes in their workplaces. “The
changes will be welcomed by the community, as they have been across
Queensland and in other local council areas where they’ve been
adopted. “Councillors
have shown they put public health, occupational health and safety, and
the protection of children ahead of narrow commercial pressure.”
Comment
/ media info:
Stafford
Sanders, ASH
Australia
www.ashaust.org.au
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Page last updated 31/3/09 |
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