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Celebrations begin as Northern Ireland wakes up to a smoke-free future
As of 6.00am today most enclosed and substantially enclosed workplaces and public places in Northern Ireland are now smoke-free.
To mark this historic day in public health, the Smoke-free Northern Ireland coalition and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) celebrated at a breakfast event held in The King’s Head, Belfast.1
Dr Brian Gaffney, Chair of the Smoke-free Northern Ireland coalition and Chief Executive of the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA), spoke at the event: “This is one of the most important public health initiatives in Northern Ireland since the health service was established and it should be celebrated. The Smoke-free Northern Ireland coalition both collectively and individually have been working to bring about this change in the legislation, which will undoubtedly save lives.
“Smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of premature death and avoidable illness in Northern Ireland. It claims around 3,000 lives every year – most of which are preventable – and one person dies every two weeks due to exposure to second-hand smoke. Everyone has the right to clean air and from today, as people across Northern Ireland make their way into work, they will know that they are guaranteed protection from the deadly effects of second-hand smoke.”
Sam Knox, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Chief Environmental Health Officers Group (CEHOG), said: “Today marks a major step forward in the protection of public health, with smoke-free environments contributing to cleaner air as well as healthier environments. District council environmental health departments across Northern Ireland have been working closely with businesses over the last six months, delivering a coordinated information service on smoke-free legislation.
“As the role of environmental health within smoke-free environments changes today from advisory to public protection through the monitoring and enforcement of the law, our officers will be on the ground, continuing to provide a supportive environment for businesses and others to comply with the legislation. Evidence suggests overwhelming public support and business awareness for smoke-free legislation, and we therefore anticipate high levels of compliance, with a consistent and proportionate enforcement approach only being taken for blatant or persistent offenders.”
Representatives from the public health and business sectors, as well as employee organisations from across Northern Ireland attended the event.
For further information about the legislation and advice on giving up smoking, log on to: www.spacetobreathe.org.uk
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For media enquiries contact:
Rosie McGaughey or Jenny Dougan at the HPA on Tel: 028 9031 1611 or Susan McCleary, Smoke-Free Environments Marketing Officer on Tel: 028 9250 9468.
1. The Smoke-free Northern Ireland coalition, facilitated by the HPA, includes 48 partner organisations from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors.
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