It’s hoped a smoking ban at all Clare County Council operated public facilities, if implemented, would aid in efforts to stamp out the habit.
The Clare members of the HSE’s Regional Health Forum West have put forward a motion calling for the move at the monthly meeting of the local authority.
In response, the council has said it will be considered under the upcoming ‘Healthy Clare Strategy’ as Clare FM’s Fiona McGarry reports:
It’s fourteen years since smoking was banned in workplaces, and despite inital apprehension from some, the inter vening period has seen further reductions in the number of smokers in Ireland.
Now the four Clare members of the HSE’s Regional Health Forum West are hoping to emulate that success by prohibiting smoking at all Council-run public facilties, in the interest of public health.
The HSE has previously made a similar move, banning the practice at health facilities.
Councillors have been told that the move can be considered under the upcoming ‘Healthy Clare Strategy’, while the local authority can currently approve a such a move for publicly owned playgrounds.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Tom McNamara wants to see strides made in banning public smoking nationwide extended even further here.
Independent Councillor Ann Norton, who recently attended a HSE presentation on the habit, says the high numbers of people still smoking, coupled with the affects it has on those smoking or passively smoking, came as a shock.
A former smoker herself, Councillor Norton hopes that if the move is implemented at Council facilities, it will encourage more people to try to kick the habit.
