West Coast towns may ban smoking in their central business districts if a council staff proposal is approved.
The West Coast Council voted on Tuesday night to seek community feedback to prioritise smoke-free initiatives in the CBDs.
“Creating smoke-free main streets and business areas in West Coast towns would have significant health, economic and environmental benefits,” a council summary read.
“The West Coast has one of the highest rates of smoking in Tasmania with a rate of 32.6% recorded in 2018.”
“The national smoking rate over the past four years is 12.2%. There is an opportunity for Council to enact smoke-free environments as a means of reducing smoking on the West Coast.”
Other Tasmanian councils have previously introduced smoke-free zones with fines for violators.
The West Coast council covers main centres in Queenstown, Rosebery, Strahan, Tullah and Zeehan.
