Smoke free

Smoke Free England

The Health Act 2006 introduced Smoke Free England from 1st July 2007 and now virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England are required by law to be smokefree.

This legislation will affect everyone, whether you are employed, operate a business or are a member of the public.

A Smokefree England protects everyone from the harmful effects of second hand smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces.

Draft Smoke Free Policy

Cheshire East Council has a Draft Smoke free policy (PDF, 135KB) to protect employees from the harmful effects of second hand smoke while at work and during home visits.

Smokefree legislation will:

Reduce the risks to health from secondhand smoke
Recognise a person's right to be protected from the harm of secondhand smoke and to breathe smokefree air
Help people trying to give up smoking by providing supportive smokefree environments
Save thousands of lives over the next decade by reducing exposure to hazardous secondhand smoke and overall smoking rates

Smokefree legislation is expected to improve health in many ways, including:

Reducing illness and the number of deaths from medical conditions caused by secondhand smoke
Improving the life expectancy of the smokers who quit because of smokefree public places and workplaces
Improving life expectancy because less people will take up smoking in the first place

Business Operators – What You Need to Know

The smoke free legislation applies to all businesses and you must consider what measures to put into place for you and your employees to meet the legal obligations.
Why not consider a smoke free policy for your workplace. This will help you in meeting your legal obligations. It can also provide guidance and help if any employee feels that they wish to stop smoking.
You are legally required to display “No-smoking” signage. This is a requirement to ensure that no-smoking signage is displayed at public/visitor entrances to premises.
Indoor smoking rooms within the workplace will not be permitted. If you permit smoking outside the confines of your building you should make arrangements so that cigarette ends are disposed of into a container and not thrown on the ground. You will also need to consider the impact on neighbours, the need for planning permission or changes to Licensing arrangements if you set up external smoking areas.

Work Vehicles, Taxis and Public Transport – How Will They Be Affected?

Smoking is prohibited at all times in taxis, private hire vehicles and all forms of public transport.
Work vehicles that are used by more than one person must be kept smokefree.

Littering – No Butts Please!

Don’t forget that if you throw a cigarette end on the ground then you could be guilty of a littering offence. It is possible that where people are encouraged to smoke in the open air outside their workplace this might become a bigger problem and individuals need to be aware that the Council has the powers to serve Fixed Penalty Notices on individuals responsible for littering.

Help And Advice – Who Do I Turn To?

You can contact your local Environmental Health Department for further advice.

Enforcement – The Last Resort

The Council’s emphasis will be to support and encourage businesses to comply with the legislation. Enforcement will only be taken when the seriousness warrants such action. Those that do not comply could be liable to prosecution for any of the following offences:

Smoking in a smokefree place or vehicle
Failing to display a no smoking sign
Allowing smoking in a smokefree place or vehicle
Littering

When is a premises "enclosed or substantially enclosed"?

The Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006 give guidance on how to determine if premises are enclosed or substantially enclosed. More information is available from the Council but a short description follows:

Premises are enclosed if they:

Have a ceiling or roof; and
except for doors, windows and passageways, are wholly enclosed either permanently or temporarily.

Premises are substantially enclosed if they have a ceiling or roof but there is :-

An opening in the walls; or
an aggregate area of openings in the walls, which is less than half of the area of the walls, including other structures that serve the purpose of walls and constitute the perimeter of the premises.

Cheshire East Council operates a workplace smoke free policy to guarantee people who do not smoke the right to work in air which is free of tobacco smoke. It takes into account the needs of those who smoke.

Smoke Free Cheshire

Before the introduction of the Smoke free legislation in 2007 the Smoke Free Cheshire project operated within the Cheshire East area in partnership with Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT. We supported and helped local businesses and organisations to create a totally smoke free indoor environment to protect their staff and customers from the effects of second hand smoke. It gave people who do not smoke (73% of people in Cheshire) a choice of a smoke free environment. Smoke Free Cheshire certificates were awarded to premises that became 100% smoke free before the legislation came into force.