Kent County Council says public parks, high streets and outside schools could all be included, but with no enforcement, some fear the scheme won't have any impact.
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00:00Pop down to town and the sight of people smoking or vaping around you is almost guaranteed.
00:05But now Kent County Council is rolling out what it calls smoke-free spaces across the
00:10county which would see signs put up in areas such as high streets, playgrounds and outside
00:15schools to deter smoking around children and young people.
00:19Now the idea isn't to ban smoking or to introduce some sort of fine. KCC simply wants to create
00:24spaces across the county where smoking tobacco or vaping isn't a common sight. But just how
00:31effective could a smoke-free space be?
00:35I'm first looking at it. You think it sounds a great idea but I know with smokers and things
00:40that sort of thing it does just go into the atmosphere and drifts around. And in my view
00:45something like this doesn't work unless there's enforcement. So unless there's enforcement
00:50and some money put in it, it just won't work. And I think in trying to enforce it it's going
00:54to be virtually impossible. So I think whoever thought of this didn't think about it.
00:58Kent County Council told us that smoking in areas covered by legislation such as enclosed
01:04spaces, buildings or vehicles can be enforced with penalties issued. But smoke-free areas
01:09in open public spaces aren't covered by that legislation, meaning there won't be any enforcement.
01:16So would smoke-free spaces actually stop people from smoking or simply be in name only?
01:22I don't think it will make any difference. I think even with the smoke-free areas people
01:28are still smoking and vaping in them.
01:30To be fair with you, if people are going to do it, they're going to do it, aren't they?
01:32Fifty-fifty. I don't think it would, to be fair.
01:36No, I don't think it will make a difference. It will be something else they'll clamp down
01:40on at a later point. So no, let them smoke.
01:46The Smoke-Free Spaces Scheme is part of almost £2 million of funding from the government,
01:50with the long-term goal of gradually increasing the minimum age to buy cigarettes before it
01:54becomes completely illegal. But with more than 170,000 smokers currently across Kent
02:00and Medway, it's believed that helping them to give up would need to be a step beyond
02:05legislation.
02:06So you really need to do the two. You have to do the one thing to stop new people coming
02:10into the trap in the first place, and those that are in the trap, you've got to help them
02:12to freedom. So just banning it just doesn't work. That's where you see actually hardened
02:17smokers who will sit there in the pouring rain and still have a cigarette outside because
02:20they're addicted. They need to have that fixed. They can't find their way out of that trap.
02:27But with the immediate hope of stubbing out second-hand smoke, Kent County Council hope
02:32Smoke-Free Spaces will turn out to be more than just a lot of hot air.
02:36Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.