A ban on smoking outside school gates has been backed by four in five people surveyed in Northern Ireland.
New data from Asthma + Lung UK Northern Ireland to mark World No Tobacco Day 2023 has found that 79.1% want smoking outside the school gates to be banned to help protect children’s health.
The leading lung charity is now urging Stormont's Department of Health to follow the example set in Wales and ban smoking outside schools.
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The ban was introduced in Wales in March 2021 on smoking around schools, playgrounds and other locations used by children.
Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable ill health in Northern Ireland, contributing half of the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest groups in society and is directly or indirectly linked to thousands of deaths in Northern Ireland annually.
Asthma + Lung UK Northern Ireland says it supports the Department of Health (DoH) goal of a smoke free Northern Ireland, but the charity wants to see a plan for further action.
Whilst it says considerable progress has been made to reduce the number of adults who use tobacco products, the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a concerning rise in new smokers aged between 18 and 34.
This increase threatens to slow down the reduction of tobacco-linked disease prevalence over the next 25 years unless targeted action is taken to help these new smokers quit soon.
Passive smoking is harmful to everyone but is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, babies and children as their lungs are still growing.
Children who breathe in second-hand smoke could increase the risk of developing asthma, hindering lung development, and resulting in their lungs becoming more sensitive to air pollution when they’re older.
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma + Lung UK Northern Ireland said: “We need to stop normalising smoking around children and protect their still developing lungs from breathing in harmful second-hand smoke.
“Our future generation’s health depends on urgent and ambitious policy making to ensure children’s health is protected. Northern Ireland lags behind all other UK nations and currently has no current target for a smoke-free NI. This needs to change.
“Although we welcome that the Tobacco Strategy Implementation Steering Group has now restarted, we yet to have any commitment on a date for a smoke-free NI. We need ambitious legislation so we can help protect children from the harms of smoking.
“We are urging the Department to follow the lead taken in Wales, and ban smoking around schools, playgrounds and other locations used by children.”
In response, a DoH spokesperson said: "The Public Health Agency offers support to primary schools to implement the Smoke Free School Gates initiative, which encourages parents and guardians to refrain from smoking and reinforces the ‘No Smoking’ messages that pupils are taught in lessons.
"The Department is currently in the process of reviewing the Tobacco Control Strategy for Northern Ireland and, as part of that process, the University of Stirling have taken forward a review of our progress in relation to reducing second-hand smoke exposure.
"We will reflect on the outcomes and recommendations of that report."
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