Smoking has been banished from workplaces, restaurants and even some parks. Now a new study suggests it should be banned on streets too.
University of Otago carried out a study which monitored the air quality on a footpath in Lower Hutt, over a period of five weeks last year. Just over 280 smokers were counted.
The study found that someone walking down a footpath while smoking exposes those they pass to a cloud of invisible smoke particles, 70% more polluted than ordinary inner-city air.
Associate Professor Nick Wilson says standing next to a smoker is twice as harmful as being exposed to rush hour traffic.
