KCC to bring in 'smoke-free' areas across Kent towns

KentOnline / KMTV

Kent County Council says public parks, high streets and outside schools could all be included, but with no enforcement, some fear the scheme won't have any impact.

Transcript

00:00Pop down to town and the sight of people smoking or vaping around you is almost guaranteed.

00:05But now Kent County Council is rolling out what it calls smoke-free spaces across the

00:10county which would see signs put up in areas such as high streets, playgrounds and outside

00:15schools to deter smoking around children and young people.

00:19Now the idea isn't to ban smoking or to introduce some sort of fine. KCC simply wants to create

00:24spaces across the county where smoking tobacco or vaping isn't a common sight. But just how

00:31effective could a smoke-free space be?

00:35I'm first looking at it. You think it sounds a great idea but I know with smokers and things

00:40that sort of thing it does just go into the atmosphere and drifts around. And in my view

00:45something like this doesn't work unless there's enforcement. So unless there's enforcement

00:50and some money put in it, it just won't work. And I think in trying to enforce it it's going

00:54to be virtually impossible. So I think whoever thought of this didn't think about it.

00:58Kent County Council told us that smoking in areas covered by legislation such as enclosed

01:04spaces, buildings or vehicles can be enforced with penalties issued. But smoke-free areas

01:09in open public spaces aren't covered by that legislation, meaning there won't be any enforcement.

01:16So would smoke-free spaces actually stop people from smoking or simply be in name only?

01:22I don't think it will make any difference. I think even with the smoke-free areas people

01:28are still smoking and vaping in them.

01:30To be fair with you, if people are going to do it, they're going to do it, aren't they?

01:32Fifty-fifty. I don't think it would, to be fair.

01:36No, I don't think it will make a difference. It will be something else they'll clamp down

01:40on at a later point. So no, let them smoke.

01:46The Smoke-Free Spaces Scheme is part of almost £2 million of funding from the government,

01:50with the long-term goal of gradually increasing the minimum age to buy cigarettes before it

01:54becomes completely illegal. But with more than 170,000 smokers currently across Kent

02:00and Medway, it's believed that helping them to give up would need to be a step beyond

02:05legislation.

02:06So you really need to do the two. You have to do the one thing to stop new people coming

02:10into the trap in the first place, and those that are in the trap, you've got to help them

02:12to freedom. So just banning it just doesn't work. That's where you see actually hardened

02:17smokers who will sit there in the pouring rain and still have a cigarette outside because

02:20they're addicted. They need to have that fixed. They can't find their way out of that trap.

02:27But with the immediate hope of stubbing out second-hand smoke, Kent County Council hope

02:32Smoke-Free Spaces will turn out to be more than just a lot of hot air.

02:36Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.

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