Smokers will be asked to butt out at some of Victoria's popular beaches.
The Sunday Herald Sun says the Surf Coast Shire council will bring in trial smoking bans at Torquay and Jan Juc beaches, possibly within the next few months.
Williamstown and Altona beaches, in Melbourne's west, are set to follow while mayors from some of Victoria's largest shires including Melbourne, Geelong, Bayside and Yarra Ranges want to extend outdoor smoking bans to other areas such as bus stops, outdoor dining venues and golf driving ranges.
Surf Coast Mayor Dean Webster says if smokers want to use the beach as an ashtray then it will mean smoking will have to be banned.
"If people continue to not pick up their butts, the end result has to be banning smoking in these areas," Mr Dean said.
VicHealth chief executive Todd Harper told the News Ltd paper that Victoria was on the brink of a new anti-smoking era.
"We will end up having a case where it's 'these are the areas you can smoke in' because everywhere else is smoke-free," Mr Harper said.
