Health minister Jillian Skinner announced smoking bans across the state would take place over the next few months as part of NSW Tobacco Strategy 2012-17.

Under the proposal smokers would no longer be able to light up in playgrounds, public sportsgrounds, swimming pools, public transport stops and entrances to public buildings.

The NSW Tobacco Strategy will also include a smoking ban in commercial outdoor dining areas from 2015.

Councillor Jason Hamling said Orange City Council had decided to make many of these places smoke free almost two years ago and smoking within 10 metres of children’s playgrounds was banned in 2005.

“Kids don’t have a choice do they if people light up around them,” he said.

While noting that smoking is not illegal, Mr Hamling said council chose to ban smoking across many areas of the city in August 2010 to improve the health of community members.

“It’s not illegal to smoke and people still have the right to smoke, but you’ve got to be a bit careful where you smoke,” he said.

Smoking-related illness accounts for around 5200 deaths and 44,000 hospitalisations per year in NSW and costs around $8 billion to the NSW economy each year.

Cancer Council NSW regional manager Annella Powell said Orange City Council were “trailblazers” and have set a good example for other councils to follow.

“We congratulate council for being an early adaptor and a trailblazer and showing other councils it can be done,” she said.

Bensons Cafe on Summer Street is one Orange eatery that still allows customers to smoke in outdoor seating areas.

Co-owner Emma Murphy said the issue had been discussed internally but at this stage Bensons had no plans to ban smoking prior to the 2015 deadline.

“If the government was to ban smoking [outdoors] I’d be quite happy to remove the ashtrays from outside,” she said.

“We’d probably have more customers that would come and eat out the front if there was no smoking.”

nadine.morton@ruralpr ess.com