Smokefree Lancaster District - One Year On
Lancaster City Council today thanked businesses and residents for their help in the smooth introduction of smokefree legislation.
Lancaster City Council today thanked businesses and residents for their help in the smooth introduction of smokefree legislation.
It is now 12 months since the city council, along with every other council in England, helped to implement new laws on smoking in public places. This represented the biggest public health change for 50 years and provided an enormous benefit for the entire population.
Contrary to some sceptics, the legislation is popular. A recent survey by the Office for National Statistics revealed that 80% of respondents agreed with its introduction, with only 6% disagreeing strongly. There is also a 16% increase in the number of people who visit pubs, with only 11% saying they will visit less.
Compliance rates in the district have been excellent and, in only a minority of cases, has it been necessary to take enforcement action. Complaints have been few and have been dealt with by giving written warnings, fixed penalties and in one case prosecution of a licensee for allowing smoking in the premises.
Peter Lord, senior environmental health officer at Lancaster City Council, said: "The introduction of the smokefree legislation was controversial and some sceptics suggested that it would just not work.
"However, our experience is that most businesses have embraced the change.
"Many of the businesses we have visited have used the introduction of the smokefree law as an opportunity to develop their services in other areas. They are now enjoying the benefits of attracting new clientele to a cleaner, healthier and smokefree environment.
"Residents have also played their part and I would like to thank them all for their help in ensuring a smooth ride for the legislation."
However, the job is not done yet. Further challenges lie ahead, including:
* Although the number of smoke free homes has increased nationally from 61% to 67%, there is still a long way to go if we are to protect vulnerable children living therein.
* Sales of counterfeit, smuggled and duty free tobacco are continuing at an alarming rate and a concerted effort must be made by all interested parties if we are to stem the flow of these products into the country.
* Preventing young people taking up the smoking habit and thus reducing the risk of them developing serious diseases such as heart disease and cancer later on in life.
* Smoking related litter, particularly outside pubs continues to be a problem and a concerted effort will be needed to tackle this antisocial and environmentally unfriendly issue.
With this in mind, the Government are now consulting on the future of tobacco control covering four main areas:
* Reducing smoking rates and health inequalities caused by smoking. (Control of the import and supply of illicit tobacco products is a key to this).
* Protecting children and young people from smoking. (63,000 children aged 8-15 smoke and 380,000 aged 14-17 in the North West. A recent survey revealed that most people think that cigarettes should be removed from sight in shops, point of sale advertising, vending machines and sale of packets of 10 banned)
* Supporting smokers who want to quit.
* Helping those who want to quit.
Responses are required to this document by September 8 2008, full details of which are available on the Department of Health website www.dh.gov.uk
Date Updated: 19/03/09