Smoking to be banned in a greater area of South Bank parklands

Smoking will be banned in more areas and more tobacco products will come under more stringent restrictions on advertising under a crackdown on cigarettes in Queensland.

Smoking will be banned in more areas and more tobacco products will be subject to advertising restrictions under a cigarette crackdown by the state government.

The Sunday Mail can reveal smoking will now be outlawed in a greater area of the South Bank Parkland as well as in two more outdoor swimming venues in regional Queensland.

Herbal cigarettes, pipes, loose smoking blend and flavouring for tobacco products will also be slapped with advertising restrictions under the shake-up.

And there will be a new requirement for pricing tickets to use the same spacing between words and letters in a bid to prevent attention being drawn to particular products.

More smoking related products will soon be subject to advertising restrictions.

Queensland Health says the move is about reducing exposure to tobacco and smoking products, and improving the health of Queenslanders.

Under the new regulation, smoking will be banned at Aquativity and the Boat Pool at the South Bank Parklands, and it will be illegal to light up at swimming lagoons in Townsville and Yeppoon.

The changes will come into effect from September 1, and will bring the venues into line with other outdoor swimming areas in Queensland.

The state’s smoking ban in certain areas of national parks will also be extended to include the Narre Budjong Djara and Teerk Roo Ra National Parks.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said from March 1 next year, more products would fall under the smoking advertising restrictions to reduce the exposure of tobacco and other smoking related products.

“Other changes to the regulation include an additional no smoking symbol, which includes a circle and a diagonal line over an image of a cigarette and smoke and an electronic cigarette,” she said.

“This change reflects that electronic cigarettes are personal vaporisers under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 … and the no smoking provisions of the Act apply to their use.

“The use of this new no smoking symbol on no smoking signs is optional.”

The spokeswoman said smoking continued to be the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease in the Sunshine State.