Cancer charity, Tenovus, has called for an outright ban on smoking in Wales. This call came after smoking was banned within the grounds of most Welsh hospitals. Six of the seven heath boards in Wales have prohibited smoking within their grounds, and the final board is in the process of developing a ban.
Richard Pugh, community manager for Tenovus, believes that an outright ban on smoking is inevitable. ‘We’ve tapped away at smoking ... stop smoking in cars, in restaurants, in public places’, ‘sooner or later we will get to the point where we stop smoking altogether... let’s do it now’. However, the Welsh government has responded saying that, while combating the harm caused by smoking is a priority, it does not have the power to introduce an absolute ban in the country.
Perpetuity is currently involved in evaluating two smoking initiatives; Smokefree homes and cars to encourage behavioural changes among smokers, and Smokescreen which aims to reduce the number of young people taking up smoking.