£100 fine for cigarette at school gates: Wales introduces Britain’s toughest smoking rules with penalties for anyone spotted sparking up outside hospitals, schools and childminders
- The Welsh Government is introducing stricter new anti-smoking rules on March 1
- Smoking outside schools, hospitals or in public playgrounds will be outlawed
- People will not be able to smoke in their own home while receiving a service
- From March 2022, smoking in hotel bedrooms and guest houses will be banned
Welsh smokers face £100 fines if they light up outside school gates, on hospital grounds and even when adjacent to childminders or day care settings.
The regulations, which come into place on March 1, will also see workers conducting home visits entitled to carry out their tasks in a smoke free environment.
In 12 months time, all bedrooms in hotels, guest houses or caravans will be smoke free, as will Airbnb rentals.
Smoking in public playgrounds will also be outlawed even if there are no children present.
Welsh health minister Eluned Morgan, pictured, said the new anti-smoking measures will come into force on March 1 and will help save lives by making tobacco consumption less attractive
Smoking will be banned from all public playgrounds, schools and hospitals from March 1. Also, smoking will be banned in private homes where tradespeople such as cleaners and plumbers are providing a service
According to Welsh health officials, the new restrictions are designed to ‘protect more workers from the harms of second-hand smoke’.
As a result, someone employing a cleaner or a plumber will not be allowed to smoke in their own home in the area the worker is required to operate.
Commenting on the tightened rules, Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language Eluned Morgan said: ‘Reducing the number of young people taking up smoking will save lives. We know the harms smoking can do to health and so we’re introducing these new requirements for the benefit of future generations.
‘Banning smoking outside hospitals and places where children and young people spend their time, such as public playgrounds and school grounds, will denormalise smoking and reduce the chances of children and young people starting smoking in the first place.
‘We are proud to be the first part of the UK to outlaw smoking in these areas and once again leading the way.’
According to the new rules, e-cigarettes will not be banned in a smoke-free environment, however ‘those responsible for particular places and settings may introduce voluntary, non-legislative requirements.’
The rules will cover cigarettes, pipes, cigars, herbal cigarettes and waterpipes – often described as hookah or shisha pipes.