Letter to editor first published in the Ballarat Courier on 15 October 2013.

From early next year, smokers will be banned from lighting up at raised platforms at tram stops and uncovered train platforms across the state. This is great news for the health of Victorians.

It’s important to see that the state government is extending smoking bans to protect commuters from second hand smoke, with the added benefit of making smoking less visible to impressionable young people.

In Greater Melbourne alone, an estimated 235,000 people catch the train or tram to work every day – a figure that is growing steadily. These new smokefree measures mean more Victorians will be free from the dangers of second hand smoke on their daily journey to work. They also have the added bonus of supporting smokers to quit and stay smokefree for good.

VicHealth supports the Victorian Government in its efforts to continue to decrease the smoking rate.

- Jerril