Australia's New South Wales to ban outdoor smoking

Smoking will be banned in playgrounds, public sports grounds, swimming pools, public transport stops and outdoor dinning areas in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) from 2015 under tobacco reforms announced on Tuesday by NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner. Skinner said the NSW government would take the drastic new measures to reduce the harm that tobacco imposes on Australia's community. "The distress and cost that smoking inflicts on families, and the burden this imposes on NSW's health system, is simply not acceptable," she said. Skinner said these measures would be debated in parliament in the coming months. The Minister said existing smoking provisions would remain in outdoor dining areas until March 2015. "The NSW Government will lead an education campaign to inform the community, businesses and affected agencies about these changes," Skinner said.