Design your smokefree playground poster
One of the ways Leeds City Council is making Leeds a better city for children and young people to grow up in, is by ensuring they have the support they need to lead healthy lives.
As part of this support, the council intends to introduce a smoking ban in playgrounds around the city so young people are protected from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and see less smoking happening as they grow up.
But we can’t do this alone!
That’s why we’re asking young people to help us get the message out there and let people know about the new playground smoking ban.
We’re teaming up with the Yorkshire Evening Post to ask young people to use their creativity to create a no smoking design that promotes a happy, healthy smokefree message, and can be used to promote the campaign in playgrounds across the city.
Designs should be positive and promote happy healthy environments, making it clear that no smoking is allowed in the vicinity of children’s play areas, with deadline for entries being 5pm on Thursday 3 September 2015.
Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council executive member for children and families, said:
When you speak with young people they know how harmful and damaging smoking can be for their own and their family’s health, so I’m thrilled that it is their ideas and designs which will be used in this project. We want the signs that are developed to speak to children and young people so they really are best placed to create the designs we use – I’m looking forward to having a look at the entries.
Find out more about entering the competition, prizes on offer and getting involved on the Yorkshire Evening Post website.
3 Responses
In answer to my own question above, I understand the ban is voluntary and therefore “relies on the goodwill of the people using the park and be supported by effective signage”. So a ‘non-smoking’ poster is misleading – it would be no use ringing 111 to report someone for smoking in a playground. A more apt poster would be one pointing out the effects of passive smoking on kids. In some places (Australia, Canada for example) it is illegal to smoke in and near playgrounds.
Reblogged this on Better Lives for People in Leeds and commented:
Great competition for Leeds children to take part in this summer.
The YEP describe it as a “voluntary smoking ban” – so is it actually illegal for people to smoke in/around playgrounds? The law is changing so people cannot smoke in cars with a child present, so would have thought a legal ban was possible for playgrounds.
I’d like to see a ban on drinking alcohol around playgrounds too. It’s a persistent problem in Cross Flatts Park, and many others too I would imagine. It might help the police if the law was strengthened. Or, as a I saw recently on a trip with my kids to Bradford city centre (and their brilliant pool and fountains) there are civil enforcement officers on hand to ask people to put their cigs out and move on the drinkers to a designated spot.