Wow. Manly Beach in Sydney has just gone smoke-free. On one hand I think it’s a bit hypocritical of the government to keep smoking legal (and heavily taxed) while chipping away at the places one can legally do it. On the other hand, smoking stinks. My tolerance for being around it has really dropped since we left London. The litter issue is a big one too. There are a lot of signs up in Sydney warning people to dispose of their butts properly (because everything that gets washed down the storm drains here eventually ends up in the harbor), yet some of the beaches really do look like giant ashtrays. It’ll be interesting to see if the ban lasts til next summer.

Update: Well, that didn’t take long. Three more beaches approved the ban today, including the most famous of all, Bondi.