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15 Oct 14
10:43
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-29623851
Smoking could be banned in Trafalgar and Parliament squares as well as the city's parks if a report by London's Health Commission is implemented.
Other measures put forward include Oyster card discounts for commuters who walk part of the way to work.
There should also be a ban on junk food shops near schools, it says.
Smokers' group Forest labelled the call for a smoking ban "outrageous". Boris Johnson said a ban could be considered if "it would actually save lives".
The report, called "Better Health for London", has been put together by former health minister and cancer surgeon Lord Ara Darzi.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
The next thing you know we'll be banned from smoking in our own gardens”
Simon Clark
Forest
In it he claims half of all adults in London are obese or overweight and the city now has more obese and overweight people than New York, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Madrid, Toronto and Paris.
'Beacon of health'
About 1.2 million Londoners smoke, and the commission claims 67 school children take up the habit every day.
The smoke free plan would see the mayor use his by-law powers over Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square and his influence over the Royal Parks, the board of which he appoints.
Local councils could pass similar by-laws for their parks and open spaces.
The implementation of the scheme has an estimated cost of £6.5m over five years.
Boris Johnson and Lord Darzi
London Mayor Boris Johnson asked Lord Darzi to come up with a plan to make Londoners healthier
The report's recommendations also include:
Traffic light labelling on menus at restaurant chains with more than 15 outlets
Planning guidance to prevent new junk food outlets opening within 400m (1,300ft) of schools
A minimum 50p per unit price for alcohol in boroughs affected by problem drinking
An acceleration of measures to reduce air pollution in the capital.
Lord Darzi told the BBC he would like parks to be a "beacon of health".
"London should lead the way for Britain, and the mayor should lead the way for London by acting to make our public spaces smoke free," he said.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Darzi said: "We want to make sure kids are out there exercising rather than looking at adults smoking in the corner."
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said: " If we were to consider a ban on smoking in parks, we would need pretty clear evidence that this would have direct health benefits - in other words, that it would actually save lives."
The Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Sally Davies said: "I welcome any measures to reduce both active smoking and its role modelling in front of children."
'Walk away'
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: "A ban on smoking in parks and squares would be outrageous.
"There's no health risk to anyone other than the smoker. If you don't like the smell, walk away.
"Tobacco is a legal product. If the Chief Medical Officer doesn't like people smoking in front of children she should lobby the government to introduce designated smoking rooms in pubs and clubs so adults can smoke inside in comfort.
"The next thing you know we'll be banned from smoking in our own gardens in case a whiff of smoke travels over the fence."
In 2011, New York introduced a ban on smoking in Central Park and all of the city's parks and beaches.
Smoking could be banned in Trafalgar and Parliament squares as well as the city's parks if a report by London's Health Commission is implemented.
Other measures put forward include Oyster card discounts for commuters who walk part of the way to work.
There should also be a ban on junk food shops near schools, it says.
Smokers' group Forest labelled the call for a smoking ban "outrageous". Boris Johnson said a ban could be considered if "it would actually save lives".
The report, called "Better Health for London", has been put together by former health minister and cancer surgeon Lord Ara Darzi.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
The next thing you know we'll be banned from smoking in our own gardens”
Simon Clark
Forest
In it he claims half of all adults in London are obese or overweight and the city now has more obese and overweight people than New York, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Madrid, Toronto and Paris.
'Beacon of health'
About 1.2 million Londoners smoke, and the commission claims 67 school children take up the habit every day.
The smoke free plan would see the mayor use his by-law powers over Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square and his influence over the Royal Parks, the board of which he appoints.
Local councils could pass similar by-laws for their parks and open spaces.
The implementation of the scheme has an estimated cost of £6.5m over five years.
Boris Johnson and Lord Darzi
London Mayor Boris Johnson asked Lord Darzi to come up with a plan to make Londoners healthier
The report's recommendations also include:
Traffic light labelling on menus at restaurant chains with more than 15 outlets
Planning guidance to prevent new junk food outlets opening within 400m (1,300ft) of schools
A minimum 50p per unit price for alcohol in boroughs affected by problem drinking
An acceleration of measures to reduce air pollution in the capital.
Lord Darzi told the BBC he would like parks to be a "beacon of health".
"London should lead the way for Britain, and the mayor should lead the way for London by acting to make our public spaces smoke free," he said.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Darzi said: "We want to make sure kids are out there exercising rather than looking at adults smoking in the corner."
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said: " If we were to consider a ban on smoking in parks, we would need pretty clear evidence that this would have direct health benefits - in other words, that it would actually save lives."
The Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Sally Davies said: "I welcome any measures to reduce both active smoking and its role modelling in front of children."
'Walk away'
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: "A ban on smoking in parks and squares would be outrageous.
"There's no health risk to anyone other than the smoker. If you don't like the smell, walk away.
"Tobacco is a legal product. If the Chief Medical Officer doesn't like people smoking in front of children she should lobby the government to introduce designated smoking rooms in pubs and clubs so adults can smoke inside in comfort.
"The next thing you know we'll be banned from smoking in our own gardens in case a whiff of smoke travels over the fence."
In 2011, New York introduced a ban on smoking in Central Park and all of the city's parks and beaches.
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Replies: 30
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i went to buy a box of smokes the other day for the 1st time in ages and 10 b&h was £4.90. ludicrous.
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I don't smoke and quite like not having someone spark up next to me in a pub or restaurant, but this is a pile of garbage.
If they really wanted to do something about public health make smoking illegal. But then of course they'd lose all that tax revenue and have to spend more cracking down on bootleggers. This 'public health / saving lives' fig leaf is just a pretence at actually doing something , other than even greater restriction of basic freedoms. I'm big on 'freedom from' as well as 'freedom to' but for me, anyone smoking in Trafalgar Square doesn't bother me in the slightest. |
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I think it's mote about setting a bad example to youngsters.
But children gambolling in parks is more of an issue imo |
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X-Factor sets a bad example to youngsters ferchrissikes!
It's all about being seen to be doing something rather than being in anyway effective. |
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"We want to make sure kids are out there exercising rather than looking at adults smoking in the corner."
Excellent!!! Make the kids walk 400 ms to get their sausage rolls, and doughnuts, and smoke along the way! |
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As though anyone in Trafalgar Square isn't harmed more by exhaust emmissions.
By the way, E-cigs are the way forward. (Not-so-thinly-veiled 45 days off the **** now post).  |
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No Smoking in Trafalgar Square
LMAO- Have you seen the amount of traffic in London these days. Ciggie smoke is fack all compared to exhaust fumes. Houses right by the side of the A13 in east London have thousands of cars and lorries go past each day. Why not ban traffic as well? Any area with a London postcode should be traffic free - scrap the Congestion Charge and build gigantic car parks outside the M25. Make people get trains, buses or bikes into town. Only allow delivery drivers in. That's a start. |
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*clears throat* ABOUT FLIPPING TIME
 Next step is to ban smoking in all pubic spaces, so eventually if you want to kill yourself you can do it in your own homes, as a non smoker, there is nothing worse than being forced to breathe in other people's second hand smoke, smokers are the most selfish in society. if I had my way congestion charge would also be £50 a day, whatever it is now (I think about £15) it's not enough. health is wealth people. *barricades himself in ready for abuse* |
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^^^^ I bet you went in pubs before the smoking ban.
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Only for pool tournaments and the odd saturday game tbh
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It makes no difference, you went in.
Did you drink alcohol while you were in there? |
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LMAO- Have you seen the amount of traffic in London these days.
 TaxiI think our anti smoking laws are draconian, cruel and ridiculous People are responsible for their own health, not the Government Plus if people live longer society cannot support them, so about the intelligence of a donut Just shows what a sad pathetic society we have become, governed by petty mean people ps I enjoyed Granchester on Monday, a normal world, people smoking in pubs  |
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Not really it unsteadied (that's not a word) my hand when playing pool unlike others it seems to have the opposite effect with.
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People smoke because they like smoking, it is a pleasant habit, it makes life easier
By trying to stop it, we are making life harder for ourselves, why???? Of course there is a risk, but as long as people are aware, that is fine People make their own choices The chance of anyone dying from passive smoking in Trafalgar square must be higher than Santa Clause being real, FFS! |
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So for the sake of knocking your balls around a table
 you risked death by second hand smoke?Do you walk the streets where you live wearing a mask to protect you from exhaust fumes from cars etc? |
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Not a smoker but discarded chewing gum makes a bigger mess of the streets than tab ends
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When the smoking ban kicked in I think I was barely 20 so I hardly had a lifetime of a pub smoking culture, it's only later on seeing the effects first hand did my outlook change, anyone that's seen someone die from normally says the same Do you walk the streets where you live wearing a mask to protect you from exhaust fumes from cars etc? You may laugh at this but I always speed up to overtake the smoker to avoid it blowing in my face, but then the next person could be smoking so I speed up more, good exercise
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When the smoking ban kicked in I think I was barely 20
Which makes you 29 now? I'm 63, and spent a lot of time in smoke filled pubs, working and drinking. Everybody knew the dangers of smoking by 1970, and a lot of people packed up. But millions didn't, and to date, I don't know anybody who died of passive smoking. |
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My sister, a non-smoker, used to bring her kids to parties in pubs, then the next day she'd moan like fack about how much their clothes stank. But she'd still come to the next party.
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no not 29, think the smoking ban was 2007
That's good to hear but research does say different, in the last 50 years 2.5 million have died from second hand smoke |
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Ahem, source please.
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Where did that figure come from?
Anti-smoking campaigners? A lot more than 2.5 million have died at war, from natural causes and winter 'flu. Stop breathing, be a hippie, and you could survive. |
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Clungehungry
15 Oct 14 13:02 Ahem, source please. The old ones are the best |
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http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/health_effects/
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I thank you.
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It should still be personal choice
There is nothing wrong with indoor smoking and non smoking areas and do people think by banning smoking people will live forever.....sadly no I hope this does not come as a shock to some people I don't think banning smoking indoors has done our pubs much good...tobacco generates wealth for the economy we are stupid to ignore that |
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We are becoming too risk adverse in the West, because we have comfortable lives
but it is no good them being comfortable if we make them more miserable for themselves The 1960/70's were a better and happier time, no one had trouble with smoking then |
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We are becoming too risk adverse in the West, because we have comfortable lives
Too f*cking right. It's insidious, and it's making us miserable and paranoid. For the record, I don't smoke. Since the ban as it is now though, I have never been bothered (i.e. caught any more than the faintest whiff) by the cigarette smoke of someone I was not actually socializing with, and that's good enough for me. |
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....but feeding the pigeons so they can carp on everyone is ok.
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