Photo: Millennium-Square-smokefree
Bristol makes major public outdoor spaces smokefree
09 March 2015
by Richard Forster
Two central squares in Bristol, popular with families, have become the UK’s first major public outdoor spaces to go smokefree under a new voluntary pilot smokefree zone.
The pilot, which has come into effect in Millennium and Anchor Squares on Bristol’s harbourside, follows a major report last year by former health minister Lord Darzi that suggested London and other UK cities should move to make major parks and public places smokefree.
“This is an exciting initiative that we hope will have a lasting impact on not just Millennium Square and Anchor Square, but the wider region and potentially the rest of the UK,” said Fiona Andrews, Director of Smokefree South West, which initiated the pilot. “These city centre squares are often full of children playing and this pilot will provide a smokefree environment for kids and their families to enjoy.”
Top international cities including New York, Toronto and Hong Kong have banned smoking in key outdoor locations, but Bristol has become the first city in the UK to pilot a voluntary no-smoking ban in a major outdoor area using positive, colourful signage.
“With Bristol named European Green Capital for 2015, I am excited to see how this pilot can change people’s habits and make Bristol an even more enjoyable place to live and to visit,” said Councillor Daniella Radice, Assistant Mayor for Public Health.
The 2015 Be There Tomorrow campaign was launched simultaneously in Bristol and featured a poignant and candid television advert, alongside billboard and radio advertising. The campaign highlights the special moments in life that one in two smokers, who don’t stop early enough, are likely to miss out on by dying early from their tobacco use.
New Bristol research has been conducted by Smokefree South West to coincide with the launch of the campaign, which shows that smoking can cause a huge strain on relationships and high levels of anxiety amongst the friends and loved ones of smokers.
The research found that nearly nine out of ten (85 percent) people in Bristol who have a friend or loved one that smokes have encouraged them to quit and one in ten (10 percent) do so at least once a week.
