The British smoking ban should be extended to pub gardens, outdoor restaurant tables, the school gates and public parks, a new report has suggested.

According to the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), more needs to be done to "de-normalise" smoking and make lighting up even more inconvenient.

It said creating further exclusion zones would encourage more smokers to use alternatives such as e-cigarettes, and claimed the ban would make such outdoor areas more appealing to non-smokers.

The RSPH's findings prompted anger from pro-smoking lobbyists - who said such legislation would "discriminate" against people who choose to smoke.

Research by the royal society also suggests there are "alarming" levels of misinformation surrounding tobacco - as 90% of people believe nicotine alone is harmful to health when this is not the case.

In actuality, it is the toxins used to make cigarettes - such as tar and arsenic - which are dangerous, and nicotine itself is no more dangerous than the caffeine in a cup of coffee.

What do you think - should the smoking ban be extended to beer gardens here? You can still have your say via the poll below.

After a day of voting, it seems Newstalk readers and listeners are divided on the subject. While almost 49% believe people should be able to smoke outdoors, 38% believe more needs to be done, with the remainder believing it should be up to the individual premises.

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