Hopes for cut in smoking in Barnsley with new town centre 'no smoking zones'
There are fresh efforts to cut the number of young people taking up smoking in Barnsley - with a new 'smoke-free zone' in the town centre
From today Barnsley will be one of the first towns in the UK to have a public 'non-smoking zone' in its town centre.
People are being encouraged not light up in the Barnsley Pals Centeneary Square around the Town Hall - to help stop young people in the town taking up smoking.
Smoking rates in Barnsley are higher than the national and regional average.
Gilly Brenner's the public health registrar at Barnsley Council:
"We know that in Yorkshire and The Humber alone, every day 51 children between 11 and 15 years old will take up smoking. If a young person doesn't take up smoking by the age of 26, they're very unlikely to ever take up smoking at all.
"What we want to do is really raise people's awareness so that they're making more of an informed decision about where they choose to smoke, and who they choose to smoke in front of, and encourage people to think about that, and to think about how they can impact on children, and that they might play a role in protecting children from taking up smoking."
Barnsley is the first place in the North to introduce such a zone in a town centre.
The decision to introduce the smoke-free zone comes after the council introduced smoke-free play areas across the borough, which are attempting to make smoking invisible to children.
The latest stats show more people are admitted to hospital in Barnsley as a result of smoking than anywhere else in the UK.
Cllr Jim Andrews the Cabinet Spokesperson for Public Health at Barnsley council:
"Pals Square, especially the fountains area, is often full of children playing. We want to provide a smokefree environment for kids and their families to enjoy. Evidence shows that if young people see smoking as part of everyday life they are more likely to smoke themselves so by making smoking invisible to children, we hope to vastly reduce the amount of children and young people picking up the habit and inspire a smoke-free generation.
“As well as the benefits to health, we also hope to see a reduction in cigarette litter in the area, which is costly to clean up as well as being unsightly to residents and visitors.”
The council say this will be the first of many smoke-free zones in the town centre.
Julia Burrows is the Director of Public Health - she's hopeful members of the public in the city will get behind the move:
“The smokefree zones will be managed through a voluntary code and although there is no threat of enforcement, we hope that people will show consideration for children by not smoking.”
Students from Barnsley College recently conducted a smokefree town centre survey and found people were generally in favour of town centre smoke-free zones - with 93% of smokers saying that they already moderated their smoking behaviour when children were near.
Barnsley Council say they're hoping to become the first place in the UK to welcome a smoke-free high street, as the number of smoke-free areas around the city is set to increase