LOCALS in Shaw, Crompton and Royton can breathe a little easier thanks to new rules introduced by Oldham Council.
That is because the local authority became smoke free on April 1, helping to safeguard staff, residents and other visitors from the harms caused by smoking.
It means all Oldham Council and Unity Partnership staff will be prohibited from smoking on work sites including offices, parks and in vehicles across the borough.
Bright signage has been placed around all sites and residents and visitors are urged to respect the policy and refrain from smoking in smoke-free areas.
This aims to protect others from the harms of second-hand smoke, discourage young people from starting to smoke, and offer support for people thinking about stopping smoking.
Cllr Zahid Chauhan, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: “We’re extremely proud to become a smoke free local authority and send a clear message out about the dangers of smoking.
“Over the past few decades we’ve seen incredible progress in the battle against smoking and we are following many other public bodies in playing our small part to de-normalise it.”
Cllr Arooj Shah, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council, who is responsible for a range of public services including parks, added: “We want our public spaces to be attractive places that residents can go to that are not clouded by smoke and littered with cigarette butts.
“It’s also important we make efforts to tackle the likelihood that children and young people will start smoking by reducing the visibility of smoking, particularly in areas like parks and play areas.”
• For information on stop smoking services in Oldham, go online:
www.oldham.gov.uk/stop_smoking