The celebrity enclave of Beverly Hills in California has voted to ban smoking outside restaurants. The local council has passed a law prohibiting smoking on patios where people are eating and poolside bars. This report from Peter Bowes:

Listen to the story

The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his friend, the actor Sylvester Stallone, have been known to enjoy a cigar on the patio of a local cafe. But such behaviour will be banned from October after Beverly Hills city council voted to create smoke-free areas outside restaurants. People will be able to smoke in sectioned-off areas around hotel swimming pools.

Opponents say the ban will prompt smokers to eat in nearby Los Angeles, which still allows people to light up if they're outdoors. But the American Heart Foundation has congratulated Beverly Hills for protecting diners from second-hand smoke. The council says it plans to look at the impact of the new law after three months.

In 1998 California became the first US state to introduce a complete smoking ban inside public buildings.

Peter Bowes, BBC News, Los Angeles

Listen to the words

the patio
the area outside a house or building where people can sit

banned
made to be against the law, not allowed to be done

smoke-free areas
places where people aren't allowed to smoke

sectioned-off
separated

Opponents
people who think that something is a bad idea

prompt
force or encourage

to light up
to start smoking a cigarette

outdoors
outside

second-hand smoke
the smoke and chemicals that non-smokers breathe when other people smoke cigarettes

the impact
the effect

Read more about this story

For teachers
Download lesson plan 66 k