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Welsh local authority introduces smoke-free play areas

Children in Caerphilly can now enjoy smoke-free play areas, following a campaign by local young people against smoking in playgrounds.

Caerphilly Council is the second local authority in Wales to introduce a smoking ban in play areas, after Powys Council introduced it in 2010.

The ban comes five years after the ban on smoking in public places in Wales came into force.
 
Nearly 100 play areas in Caerphilly Council will be smoke-free as soon as the signs are designed. The policy became reality following a campaign by local young people.

Rob Hartshorn, Caerphilly Council’s head of public protection, said, ‘We welcome this decision as smoking continues to be the largest single preventable cause of ill health and premature death in Wales. This includes the harm caused to non-smokers who have inhaled second-hand smoke.’

Currently, children in the UK are not protected by law from exposure to passive smoking in playgrounds, so any such ban is on voluntary basis, through the local authority.

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