Ban smoking in public parks, top medic says
SMOKING in public parks should be banned, according to a top health official.
Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies said that a ban would stop children being set a bad example.
She also called on Mayor of London Boris Johnson to ban smoking in the capital's parks in a report he commissioned.
According to the Daily Mail, she said: "We all know smoking is bad for health, So I welcome any measures to reduce both active smoking and its role-modelling in front of children."
However, civil liberties campaigners claimed the proposals were "heavy-handed".
Stephanie Lis, of the Institute for Economic Affairs, said: "This is an outrageous attack on personal freedom – a slippery slope on the path to banning smoking altogether.
"Politicians must avoid this heavy-handed interference in the lives of ordinary people."
The next thing will be a ban on smoking in our own gardens in case a whiff of smoke travels over the fence
Simon Clark, of the smokers’ group Forest, added: "A ban on smoking in open air parks would be outrageous.
"There’s no health risk to anyone other than the smoker. If you don’t like the smell, walk away.
"The next thing will be a ban on smoking in our own gardens in case a whiff of smoke travels over the fence.
"The anti-smoking bandwagon is becoming farcical. It’s sad to see the Mayor of London encouraging such nonsense."
Mr Johnson said that the report opened up debate on the issue.
He said: "One of the glories of London is that we are generally pretty laissez-faire about how people live their lives – provided they do not break the law and provided they do no harm to others.
"If we were to consider a ban on smoking in parks, we would need pretty clear evidence that this would have direct health benefits – in other words, that it would actually save lives. It is time for London to have that debate."
