New health plan calls for smoking ban in London’s public spaces

Iconic London spaces like Trafalgar Square and Regent’s Park could become smoke free if new recommendations from the London Health Commission are implemented.

Lord Ara Darzi, cancer surgeon and former health minister, handed his health plan Better Health for London, to Boris Johnson, Mayor of London yesterday. The recommendations aim to make London the healthiest major global city within 10 years.

“Just as smokers’ lungs are polluted, the lungs of our city–our parks and green spaces–are polluted by smoking,” Lord Darzi said. “London should lead the way for Britain, and the mayor should lead the way for London by acting to make our public spaces smoke free.”

Under existing powers and influence, the mayor could implement the smoking bans on over 8,000 hectares of parks and open space, or 40 percent of the city, and pave the way for other local councils to pass similar byelaws for their parks and open spaces.

Former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, who banned smoking in Central Park, said that the ban had helped extend life expectancy by nearly three years during his time as mayor.

“London’s new initiative would be a major achievement because no other capital city boasts so much parkland,” he said.

Other recommendations to improve Londoners’ health include mandatory traffic light labelling on restaurant menus, discounts for commuters who walk to work, restricting junk food outlets within 400 metres of schools, and setting minimum alcohol pricing of £0.50 per unit.

The recommendations have also increased calls for more health powers to be given to mayors. Currently the mayor is responsible for looking at ways of improving the health of Londoners but does not have any powers over the National Health Service.

“When we launched our diabetes report in March this year, we called for more joined-up thinking and coordination between the London General Assembly and London Boroughs,” said Dr Onkar Sahota, Chair of the London Assembly Health Committee. “[This would help] facilitate a consistent and coherent approach to encourage individuals to improve their health.”

Lord Darzi will next appear before the London Assembly Health Committee in November to be quizzed on his recommendations.

“The ideas and proposals in this report have been developed for London, yet they could just as easily apply to other big cities in the UK–London should be a leader, not an exception,” Lord Darzi added. “I passionately believe that Britain’s local and city governments can become the defining locus for better health.”