Outdoor smoking ban in Blackpool considered but not yet in pipeline

Northumberland, Durham, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Manchester have all banned smoking at venues where outside seating is available, and others are considering following suit.

In Gateshead, although no high-level policies have been set in place, all restaurants and bars granted sidewalk licences must be smoke-free.

Oxfordshire is also considering the move as part of plans to become the first smoke-free county by 2025, five years ahead of the government's time frame.

Dr Arif Rajpura, Blackpool Counci's director of public health, said they are keen "keen to assess and review ideas" to help the wider Blackpool tobacco control strategy, but "all information and learning would...need to be considered and evaluated by the council before implementation."

Mr Rajpura added: "We recognise how harmful to health smoking is.

"Over the years we have adopted a number of initiatives and introduced measures to encourage smokers to give up for health reasons including the designation of some areas of Blackpool as smoke-free zones.

"The council will continue work to with our community to try to reduce the numbers of people who smoke and avoid the harm to others via passive smoking."

Blackpool Council led the way in 2012 when a number of parks in the town were declared “designated smokefree sites”.

Signs went up at entrances to 13 playgrounds and playing fields, warning people the move was necessary to protect children.

The signs read: "Altogether Now. To protect children, this is a designated smokefree site."n.

While the number of smokers in Blackpool has decreased in recent years, the level is still above the national average.

Public Health England figures for 2018 showed 21 per cent of adults in Blackpool smoke, which was down from 28 per cent in 2011, but above the national average of just over 14 per cent.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month.

Try us today by clicking HERE.