“It is not about telling people not to smoke.”
Public health officials in Oxfordshire in the UK are determined to make the county cigarette smoke-free by 2025.
Having taken the initial steps to ban outdoor smoking in outdoor spaces in February last year, the plan is now in full swing as lockdown lifts.
Smoking outside bars and restaurants, as well as outside workplaces is set to be banned throughout the entire county.
The ban will create smoke-free pavement dining areas, so non-smokers can enjoy their outdoor summer without breathing in unwanted fumes.
It’s hoped that the new smoke-free atmosphere outside work places will deter staff from bothering to smoke at all, and encourage more people to quit.
Oxfordshire’s public health director, Ansaf Azhar hopes to see the county become smoke free by 2025. He said: “It is not about telling people not to smoke. It is about moving and creating an environment in which not smoking is encouraged and they are empowered to do so. But that is not going to happen overnight.”
For the county to be officially recognised at smoke-free by the Government, less than five per cent of the population can be active smokers.
What do you think? Would it work to ban outdoor smoking in an Irish city? Let us know in the comments.
