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Calls for smoking to be banned in pub beer gardens and outdoor seating areas
However, an outdoor smoking ban in is not universally supported
A recent study found that 1 in 5 ex-smokers think a ban on smoking in pub beer gardens and outdoor areas would help them quit the habit for good.
The Quitting Smoking for Mental Health study spoke to 1,000 current and ex-smokers from all around the country to find out what measures would be best for smoking cessation.
This was the response they got:
- 26% wanted a ‘smoking ban in all public places, including hospitals, parks and bus stops’
- 20% wanted a ‘ban on smoking on pub premises, including pub gardens and outdoor seating’
- 19% wanted a ‘workplace ban on smoking on the premises and cigarette breaks’
According to smoking cessation charity ASH, the study – which was conducted by Vape Club – discovered that 43.9% of ex-smokers found their mental health had improved since they quit smoking.
It also found that the pandemic has been the driving force behind an ‘astonishing’ quit rate among young smokers, although some stressed concerns that pubs reopening may mean they relapse.
Stephanie Barnes, an ex-smoker, said: “It’s quite a tricky one I’d imagine as some outside pub spaces aren’t big enough to separate the garden but I think separate areas would be a good idea.
“Try and remember how far you’ve come – ie if you quit smoking for three months then what is making you want to start when in a pub? Remember how smoking made you feel, for me it was stomach pains and chesty and remember why you’re so much better without it”.
ASH are calling for the current ‘pop up’ pavement licences to be made 100% smokefree, as a way of helping smokers to ‘quit and stay quit’.
They also want to provide family-friendly spaces, as well as preventing any harm caused by second-hand smoke.
Jonathan James, owner of The Boathouse pub, said: “We see an increase in smoking when people drink alcohol. We are fortunate to have an extensive external space, with tables that are very well spaced and table service for safety with the pandemic.
“While we see no need to implement a no smoking policy as it would reduce trade, I can understand urban venues with limited outside access would have an issue.
“I can imagine that a blanket ban would make it easier for an ex-smoker, simply because they no longer have to tell themselves not to smoke. ‘You can’t smoke’ is much easier than ‘you can but best you don’t smoke’, especially after a few Mojitos!”
However, an outdoor smoking ban in pub beer gardens is not universally supported.
Andres Siimon on Unsplash
Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said: “There is absolutely no justification for banning smoking outside pubs and thankfully there is very little support for it.
“If ex-smokers are so easily tempted to relapse that’s their problem not the publican’s.”
He added: “Demands to ban smoking outside are the last thing publicans need as they try to recover from lockdown.
“Ultimately it’s a matter for them, not government or anti-smoking campaigners, to choose a policy that best suits their business and attracts the largest number of customers.”
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Heroic school boy clears 18 tonnes of rubbish which had been fly-tipped along country road
Daniel Lewis is on a mission to clean up his home town
A school boy has set the example of all examples after he got to work single-handedly shifting eighteen tonnes of rubbish that had been fly-tipped along a country road.
Sixteen-year-old Daniel Lewis has earned the nickname ‘SuperDan’ by locals after he set out on a mission to clean up the streets around Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.
As a part of his selfless commitment, Daniel has organised litter picks and a community skip scheme to provide free skips to villages around his home town.
@Daniel Sam Volunteer / Facebook
And, in the last year alone, Daniel has removed over eighteen tonnes of rubbish and litter, most of which had been fly tipped onto country roads. The waste included old furniture, children’s toys and clothes and 130 used tyres.
And, upon hearing of Daniel’s mission, local businesses such as the Bryn Group of Gelligaer, started donating their services to help him dispose of the rubbish for free.
Writing on Facebook, Bryn Group said: “We were only too happy to be able to help Daniel with his quest. 18 tonnes of fly tipped waste is hard to comprehend and yet it was up there. Thanks to him it’s no longer blighting our landscape.”
@Daniel Sam Volunteer / Facebook
And Daniel, who is also an avid nature and wildlife photographer, uses his social media accounts to post reminders about the importance of preserving natural land.
He wrote: “Remember, it is not someone else’s duty to pay to dispose of your waste that you are responsible for.
“Out of respect to Volunteers like myself, companies who have provided the skips and services like Step Up Skip Hire and the beautiful countryside and farmers land, please think twice about fly-tipping and morally remember- YOU purchased the items to begin with, therefore it is YOUR responsibility to dispose of the waste correctly.”
We all need to be a bit more Daniel.
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Kind-hearted Mancunians thanked after charity receives huge donations for Afghan refugees
£40,000 has also been raised for those fleeing Afghanistan
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Americans are baffled at how far people actually walk in the UK
Another day, another American perplexed by British culture…
Here in the UK we love a good jaunt, whether it be in the countryside, around our local park, or on our way to work.
However, it turns out that our love for walking isn’t a global thing because, according to one American this week, our passion for getting out and about on foot is completely bewildering to those on the other side of the pond.
Taking to Reddit, the American user expressed their disbelief after finding out that a ‘thirty minute walk’ is considered a ‘short walk home.’
Brett Jordan / Unsplash
They wrote: “I was listening to an ITV true crime podcast yesterday, and the person said ‘it was a short walk home, about thirty minutes.’ Is that really considered to be a short walk home?
“I can’t fathom walking that far in the US and considering it anything I’d do just to get home. Do people walk that much in the UK?”
They clarified in the comments that they were being serious, explaining that ‘most of the US just isn’t set up for walking.’
“No sidewalks, crazy drivers, plus just distance. Americans don’t walk. Also, where I am in Indiana, there is no mass transit. Indianapolis has it, but it’s scarce and quite unreliable. We drive everywhere. As in, everywhere.”
@areksan / Unsplash
Of course, the post was quickly inundated by amused British users who all couldn’t quite wrap their heads around a world of no regular walking.
One person wrote: “Thirty minutes is only a mile and a half, you’re joking aren’t you? I take my dog longer walks.”
Another noted: “I can’t speak for all people, but I would hate to meet the person to whom a 30-min walk is considered some sort of unusually length trek of incredible proportions. For any normal healthy person it’s about 1.5miles.”
The NHS website states that a brisk ten minute daily walk carries an array of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
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Americans are baffled at how far people actually walk in the UK
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