Another laneway in Melbourne’s CBD will become smoke-free to protect the community from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, and improve amenity for residents, traders and shoppers.
At Tuesday’s Future Melbourne Committee, City of Melbourne councillors endorsed a plan to make McKillop Street, between Little Collins and Bourke streets, a smoke-free area.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the initiative has the backing of residents and business owners.
“We put the proposal to the local community and 90 per cent told us they supported McKillop Street going smoke-free,” the Lord Mayor said.
“We’re committed to improving the health and liveability of our wonderful city, and our smoke-free areas ensure everyone can enjoy our streets and laneways.”
The City of Melbourne municipality currently has 13 smoke-free areas, including the Bourke Street Mall, and The Tan and Princes Park running tracks. Smoking and vaping are prohibited in the clearly signed smoke-free areas.
Health, Wellbeing and Belonging portfolio lead Councillor Dr Olivia Ball said the creation of smoke-free areas has significant benefits for the community.
“Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of cancer, accounting for 13 per cent of cancer cases each year and there’s no known safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke,” Cr Dr Ball said.
“We know smoke-free areas provide a supportive environment for people who are trying to quit or who have recently quit smoking, as well reducing uptake of smoking in young people by modelling non-smoking behaviour.”
In July, the City of Melbourne endorsed the Smoke-Free Melbourne policy, making it the first Australian city to introduce a framework to protect the community from the harmful effects of smoking.
An education-first approach will be taken to ensure the public is aware of the new smoking ban.
