Extending smoke free zones to parks and beaches "unwarranted" and "illiberal"

Wed 15th July, 2015

Forest has urged Brighton and Hove City Council to reject calls to extend smoke free zones to include beaches and parks.

Responding to the news that the Council may hold a consultation on the issue, Simon Clark, director of Forest, said:

"Extending the smoking ban to parks and beaches is an unwarranted attack on people's personal freedom.

"There's no evidence that smoking in the open air is a risk to the health of anyone other than the smoker.

"Nor is there evidence that the sight of a stranger lighting up encourages children to smoke.

"Tobacco is legal product. Smokers pay over £10 billion annually in tobacco taxation, a sum that far exceeds the alleged cost of treating smoking-related diseases. This persistent attack on their habit must stop.

"Smokers should smoke responsibly, with consideration for others around them, but extending the smoking ban, even on a voluntary basis, to outdoor spaces is petty and illiberal."

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