BRIGHTON beach could become smoke-free under plans to be considered today.

The proposal to extend the current smoking ban in pubs, cafes and shopping centres to outdoor public areas will be discussed by Brighton and Hove City Council as it meets to decide whether public consultation should go ahead.

If agreed, the consultation period will run from Wednesday for 12 weeks.

Brighton Council already has a voluntary ban on smoking in children’s play areas, but now the city’s parks and beaches could be smoke-free too.

Health charity Ash chief executive Deborah Arnott said that if the plan goes ahead it would be good for the environment as well as health as it “would reduce the amount of cigarette butt litter on beaches which doesn’t degrade quickly and is harmful to wildlife.”

A national smoking ban in workplaces and enclosed public areas was introduced in July 2007 and smoking in cars carrying children will also be outlawed in England in October this year.