SMOKERS should prepare for the day when they are virtually confined to lighting up in their own backyards.

They will not be able to smoke on footpaths, and feeding their habits in public will be restricted to a few designated smoking zones.

Where you can't light up in NSW.

A wide-ranging ban on outdoor smoking in public areas is the logical next step in stamping out smoking from public life altogether, according to Cancer Council NSW chief executive Andrew Penman.

Dr Penman said it was becoming increasingly unacceptable that people could be subjected to drifts of smoke from fellow pedestrians when they walked down the street.