British province wants to ban smoking outside and become completely smoke-free.
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Smoking a cigarette between two pints in the pub will soon be out of the question for Brits from Oxford Shire. The county council wants to ban smoking outside completely.
This means that you are no longer allowed to light a cigarette on the terrace and going outside for a smoke break is no longer allowed. The administrative area ultimately wants to be completely smoke-free by 2025. In addition, there will be spaces that will make people feel empowered not to light up a cigarette.
Getting the population to quit smoking
The plan had been in place for a while but was delayed due to the pandemic. Now it makes a difference that the catering industry was also largely closed in England, so the ban was not really necessary yet. The county is working hard to get the population to stop smoking completely.
At the moment, about 12 percent of the population still regularly smokes a cigarette. If it is possible to make outdoor smoking illegal, it is estimated that only 5 percent will still smoke. If less than 5 percent of the population smokes, Oxford Shire can officially call itself smoke-free, Metro UK reports. To achieve this, employers are advised to no longer accept a smoking break. Healthcare should also be more active in advising smokers to avoid tobacco products.
If you are in the area now, you can still light a cigarette. It has not yet been decided when the ban should come into effect. The province's health chief, Ansaf Azhar, said they realize the area will not be smoke-free overnight. "It's about creating an environment in which smoking is not a given."
More smoke-free areas
Oxford Shire isn't the only place where smoking is banned in public places. In the Canadian province of Quebec, you have to stand at least nine meters away from the terrace if you want to meet your nicotine needs. In Saskatchewan, it is even banned in all public outdoor spaces. In Australia, if you light a butt, you must be four meters away from any non-house entrance. Also, there you are not allowed to smoke on the terrace when food or drinks are served.
Smoking is still allowed on the terrace in the Netherlands. If you are waiting for the train, you have to put the cigarettes away for a while. Stations and platforms are completely non-smoking. You can no longer buy cigarettes at stations. This will soon become impossible in supermarkets. Last year, about 20 percent of our population regularly lit up a cigarette, almost 15 percent smoked daily. That is less than in 2014, according to Trimbos, a quarter of Dutch people still smoked.