Auckland, Feb 5 NZPA - Having a puff on a cigarette at the beach may become a thing of the past under a proposal to ban smoking in many outdoor areas.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service will urge tougher measures in a submission to the Maori affairs select committee's inquiry into the tobacco industry and the effects of tobacco use on Maori.

Public health campaigners say they want to make it easier for the Government to adopt radical measures to make New Zealand smokefree within 10 years by focussing the debate on tobacco.

The Auckland service wants the law banning indoor smoking at workplaces extended to playgrounds, outdoor eating areas, beaches, the area outside buildings, cars when a child under 16 is present, public transport stops and pedestrian malls, The New Zealand Herald reported today.

From January 1 Auckland University became a smoke-free campus, including areas once designated as smoking areas which it said would allow staff and students to work and study in a healthier, cleaner environment.

The latest proposals would reduce smoking opportunities for workers and bar patrons, forced outside or onto the street by the smokefree environments law.

A tax increase on tobacco may be considered in this year's budget, said Prime Minister John Key.

Already many local authorities have banned smoking in areas used by children, such as playgrounds, sports fields and beaches.