Outside smoking ban 'social engineering'

The New Zealand Hospitality association has blasted a "discriminatory" bid to ban smoking in outdoor areas of bars and restaurants.

Hospitality New Zealand has called the proposal to ban smoking in outdoor areas as "social engineering."

City and regional councils have asked the Government to develop and implement legislation to prohibit smoking outside cafes, restaurants and bars.

A vote at Local Government New Zealand's annual general meeting last week had 70 per cent vote in favour of the ban.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Bruce Robertson told Radio NZ that it is "discriminatory" to single out bars and restaurants. "We believe it should be the members choice, really, to allow smoking or not," he said.

"This is very targeted, if they were genuine the ban should be across all cinemas, parks and government buildings.

"They are very selectively picking on the hospitality industry."

Restaurant and bar operators across the Bay did not seem to oppose the change, and many had been expecting it.

Billy's bar owner Barry Kumar said that smoking and drinking go hand in hand and that it will be a very tough habit to break.

"If the law changes we will support it because there isn't a whole lot else we can do about it," Mr Kumar said.

He does anticipate the change will affect business.

"If people come for a drink and are told they can't smoke they will just go somewhere else," he said.

For all of July, residents of both Hastings and Napier will have the chance to let councils know if they support a voluntary ban on smoking in public places like parks and bus stops.

The ban would be non-enforceable, with signs designed to positively encourage smokers to "enjoy the fresh air and refrain from smoking", Napier City Councillor Michelle Pyke said.

Smoking was banned inside licensed premises, workplaces and schools in 2004. Student Volunteer Army founder and social entrepreneur Sam Johnson said it is inevitable that the ban will happen one day and described smoking as "inherently anti-social."

"If we want to reach our goal of Smokefree 2025 we need to start making these sort of changes," Mr Johnson said.