CALLS have been made by environmental health officers to ban smoking in playgrounds, public parks, theme parks and zoos.

Officers hope that the ban will stop children from growing up thinking that smoking is normal.

READ MORE: Smoking rates across England are lowest on record, say health officials

Barrow vaping store gives E-cigs a vote of confidence

Smoking is already illegal in pubs, restaurants and nightclubs as well as public transport after law came into force in 2007.

However, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health wants to stretch the ban ever further by encouraging local councils to designate any place where children play or learn as a no-smoking zone.

The new exclusions would be on a voluntary basis and not enforced by statute.

At South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton, smoking is prohibited across the whole of the site, including the use of electronic cigarettes.

VOTE: SHOULD SMOKING BE BANNED IN PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS?