Campaign to stop street smoking ban

The UK smokers’ group Forest is calling for assistance in fighting plans to extend a hospital tobacco smoking ban to neighboring streets.

The BBC ran a story last month saying that the Birmingham Children’s Hospital planned to make the streets around it a smoke-free zone.

“I can understand why they don’t want people smoking close to the main entrance but restricting smoking in neighbouring streets is ridiculous,” said Forest director Simon Clark.

“The trust is looking for a problem that doesn’t exist. There’s no evidence that smoking outside is harmful to anyone other than the smoker.

“When you walk past someone smoking in the street your exposure to tobacco smoke is minimal. You may not like the fleeting smell but that’s no reason to ban it.

“Erecting signs and employing people to patrol the area to stop people smoking is an appalling waste of taxpayers’ money.

“The NHS [National Health Service] deserves better than to be run by faceless bureaucrats who waste their time and our money coming up with petty schemes like this.”

The trust’s plans are subject to a six-week consultation that ends on Monday.

Further details are at: http://www.bch.nhs.uk/smokefree-consultation