THE state government is considering a statewide ban on smoking in outdoor areas such as alfresco dining areas and children's playgrounds following lobbying by local councils and health groups.

The new five-year NSW Tobacco Strategy, which is yet to be approved by cabinet, is believed to recommend the introduction of uniform anti-smoking laws in crowded outdoor areas such as concerts, markets and shopping malls.

Half of all NSW councils now have some sort of ban on smoking in outdoor areas, up from 38 per last year, and 18 per cent in 2007, a report released today by the Heart Foundation finds.

However, the rules vary between suburbs, with neighbouring councils implementing smoke-free policies in a piecemeal fashion since Manly Council became the first jurisdiction in the country - and only the second in the world behind Los Angeles - to legislate a smoking ban on beaches in May 2004.

The Heart Foundation said the current situation, where smoking is banned on Bondi and Balmoral beaches, but allowed at Coogee and Cronulla, was ''ridiculous''.