St. John's city council is considering a smoking ban at about 120 different playgrounds, as well as outdoor athletic fields. (CBC)

St. John's city council is poised on Tuesday to approve a smoking ban on all of its playgrounds and outdoor recreation areas.

If sanctioned, smoking would become illegal at 120 playgrounds, as well as 32 outdoor sports and recreation areas. Smoking would still be permitted in other areas of public parks.

Karl Hawley, a former smoker and cancer survivor who now runs a fitness company, is applauding the move to ban smoking new recreation areas.

"We're only going to be better off," said Hawley.

"We're a sick province — we're a sick country actually — on the East Coast more probably so than the West Coast. So we can't do enough ... to stay in shape."

Until recently, council was simply going to promote the idea of smoke-free areas.

Coun. Shannie Duff said while city staff were at first worried they could not enforce a ban, there has since been a change of heart.

"It's virtually impossible to have people everywhere catching people in the act and giving tickets, but we think that it'll have more force and it'll be more likely to be self-regulating if it's a ban, rather than simply a strategy," Duff said.

The issue is on the agenda for council's meeting on Tuesday evening.