Caerphilly Council is the second local authority in Wales to introduce a smoking ban in play areas, after Powys Council introduced it in 2010.
The ban comes five years after the ban on smoking in public places in Wales came into force.
Nearly 100 play areas in Caerphilly Council will be smoke-free as soon as the signs are designed. The policy became reality following a campaign by local young people.
Rob Hartshorn, Caerphilly Council’s head of public protection, said, ‘We welcome this decision as smoking continues to be the largest single preventable cause of ill health and premature death in Wales. This includes the harm caused to non-smokers who have inhaled second-hand smoke.’
Currently, children in the UK are not protected by law from exposure to passive smoking in playgrounds, so any such ban is on voluntary basis, through the local authority.
However, local authorities are increasingly looking into making play areas smoke-free. Some, such as Wirral Borough Council, have in place a voluntary code to prevent people from smoking in playgrounds. St Helens Council is consulting residents about introducing a voluntary code. Medway Council, North Hertfordshire District Council and Arun District Council have installed smoke-free signs in play areas, and Crawley Council is to follow suit.
Anti-smoking charity Ash has campaigned for smoke-free playgrounds in Wales since September 2010. The charity’s chief executive, Elen de Lacy, said, ‘We are delighted that Caerphilly Council has taken this step to ban smoking in its playgrounds and is committed to making sure people take notice of it.’
Councils in Wales have the power to ban smoking in playgrounds and Ash Wales wants to see the other 20 councils follow suit.
Twenty-three per cent of adults in Wales smoke, according to the Welsh Health Survey 2010. A recent YouGov survey found that 79 per cent of Welsh adults agree that smoking should be banned in outdoor children’s play areas.
Caerphilly Council hopes that the ban will be largely self enforcing, much like the ban on smoking in enclosed public places. Council staff will ask those who light up in play areas to stop smoking.
The Welsh government recently published theTobacco Control Action Plan for Wales.
A Welsh government spokesperson said, 'Just as Wales took a bold step in creating smoke-free environments in enclosed public and work places, we have recognised the time is right to champion new approaches to further protect children from the harms of second-hand smoke. The action plan encourages local authorities to introduce smoke-free playgrounds in their local areas.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said, ‘In the future, local authorities may wish to take further action to make non-enclosed parts of their properties smoke-free voluntarily.
‘Local communities and organisations may also wish to go further to create environments free of second-hand smoke, for example in children’s playgrounds and outdoor parts of shopping centres.
‘This can also help to shape positive social norms and discourage smoking. It has been introduced using voluntary mechanisms in some local authorities.’
Outside the UK, smoking in play areas is banned in countries such as Spain, Poland, Hungary and Singapore.
