Other venues must follow Royal Show's smoke free lead

Media release from the AMA (WA)

AMA (WA) President Prof Gary Geelhoed calls on other major outdoor venues to go totally smoke free

Other major outdoor venues attracting hordes of West Australian children every week, should follow the lead of the Perth Royal Show and become totally smoke free, the AMA (WA) said today.

"Popular family playgrounds such as Perth Zoo should seize the opportunity to promote their venues as totally smoke free, safe environments for children," said association President Prof Gary Geelhoed.

"Like Gloucester Park, Ascot and Belmont racecourses, these venues claim to be smoke free but still provide areas where people can smoke.

"The community has shown it's ready for widespread changes and it wants our kids to be protected from the dangers of passive smoking."

Prof Geelhoed said history was being made today with the Perth Royal Show becoming the largest smoke-free community event in the world – thanks to a partnership between Healthway and the Royal Agricultural Society of WA.

"Around 200,000 children will visit the Royal Show this week and for the first time ever they will be able to spend the day wandering around without breathing in second-hand smoke," he said.

"What a giant step forward it would be if smokers were banned from all major outdoor venues which attracted masses of children."

Prof Geelhoed said WA was now set to become a world leader in smoking reform having recently passed legislation extending smoking restrictions to all alfresco restaurants and in cars carrying children and banning the display of cigarettes at point of sale.

"There will be major health benefits for WA as the reduction in smoking-related illnesses help ease the burden on the State's pubic health system," he said.

"A major study just published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that a year after banning smoking in public places and workplaces, communities in the US, Canada and Europe had 17 per cent fewer hospital admissions for heart attacks compared with communities without smoking restrictions.

"The journal said it was now clear that smoking bans had contributed to the most important health triumph in the past 50 years because of the steep decrease in deaths from cardiovascular disease."

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