Stronger action required to reduce harm from tobacco use in Queensland, Australia.

I have begun a petition on the Qld Parliament e-petitions website calling for stronger tobacco controls in Qld. To read and sign the petition please go to http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/petitions/e-petitions Then scroll down till you see "Stronger action required to reduce harm from tobacco use" It may be on the 2nd page of current e-petitions. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in Australia and further strengthening of legislation is required. In 2010 Queensland Health estimated that smoking contributed directly to over 3,400 deaths and over 35,000 hospital operations annually. Queensland Health estimates 32,000 Queensland children aged 12-17 smoke weekly. Extending smoking bans will reduce passive smoking harm and assist smokers to quit. Since 1 January 2010 councils have the option to ban smoking in pedestrian malls and public transport waiting points. A ban is proposed for only one pedestrian mall and nil public transport points. This optional system is a failure. Publicans are skirting the intention of current legislation by including outdoor areas seldom/never used by patrons when calculating the designated outdoor smoking area (DOSA). Balconies, carparks and footpaths can be included in the DOSA calculation, reducing the non-smoking area of a venue's main outdoor drinking area to below the 50% intended. Increasing tobacco price has the greatest impact on reducing sales.