Thanet council is working with Kent County Council to create smoke-free spaces in the district.
The spaces, which are being introduced across Kent, will be in locations ranging from public parks and play areas to high streets and outside schools.
The councils say the aim is to deter smokers from smoking in public spaces and vaping around children and young people; protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke; raise awareness of local support to stop smoking; reduce litter and help create an environment where children see not smoking as normal.
Signs will be displayed at the smoke-free zones and Thanet council is asking residents to take part in designing them.
For signs due to go on display in Ramsgate, TDC is inviting people to design workshops on:
- Monday 10 February, 10am to noon at Finsbury Court, Finsbury Road, Ramsgate
- Tuesday 11 February, 11am to 1pm at Mentmore House, Mentmore Road, Ramsgate
- Wednesday 12 February, 2pm to 4pm at Ramsgate Library, Guildford Lawn, Ramsgate
The smokefree spaces project is funded by grants from Kent County Council’s (KCC) £1.9million share of the Government’s ‘Stopping the start’ money pot. Smoke-free spaces are also being set up in Ashford, Dover, Gravesham, Maidstone and Swale.
The central support was set up to aid work in 2024/2025 that helps the nation towards the goal of becoming smokefree.
KCC’s Director of Public Health, Dr Anjan Ghosh, said: “Second-hand smoke is invisible and often has no smell. But no matter how careful you think you’re being, people around you still breathe in the harmful poisons.
“The best way to protect yourself and others is to stop smoking and there is free support available to help you do this. Just visit kent.gov.uk/smokefree to find the best quit route for you to find the best quit route for you.
“While vaping can help adult smokers stop smoking, anyone who doesn’t smoke should not vape. It’s not risk-free and its effects on undeveloped lungs not fully understood. It means adults using vapes as quit aides can also help protect children and young people by not using the devices around them.”
The Isle of Thanet News has requested details of where the smoke-free zones will be located.
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
As part of the government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill current indoor smoking restrictions will be expanded to certain outdoor public places and workplaces. In England, the government is considering extending smoke-free outdoor places to outside schools, children’s playgrounds and hospitals but not outdoor hospitality settings or wider open spaces like beaches.
Private outdoor spaces are out of scope of the powers in the bill.
The bill also provides powers to make places vape-free and heated tobacco-free.
The Bill is currently at the report stage, prior to a third reading, in the House of Commons. It then has to go through the House of Lords before final stages and Royal Assent.
How bloody ridiculous
Another prohibition that will be impossible to enforce and simply bring the concept of Law into disrepute.
I don’t dispute the admirable intention. I just despair at the naivety of legislators. Look at the dog excrement on every pavement and the number of people using telecommunications whilst driving vehicles.
The intention is to make money fining people, not to benefit health. If it were they would be banning vehicles-the damage done by walking past a smoker is pretty much zero. Breathing in car fumes non-stop is considerable.
It is as mentioned above a worthy concept. A lot of people, myself included, develop a nasty cough when in the presence of smoke- and I’m generally fit and healthy- but many are not and should have areas where they can go and not have to be affected by other people’s bi products. That includes people trying to give up who don’t want to be tempted by other people’s habit! How or if it will work is another matter- though workshops may help.
I don’t care for having to endure smelly people in shops-who are too lazy or scummy to wash themselves. But there is no plan to ban them from shops, or even the streets-as many you can smell outside as well.
When will TDC and KCC bring in restricted area’s outside schools for parents picking up children as well. The number of parents who sit in their cars with engines running until child comes out of school is getting out of control. Earliest arrival outside my home is 2:15pm for 3:15pm. The wind in the right direction blows engine fumes into the school grounds let alone into residents properties.
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Before I get a backlash: My home in a dip was built 90 years ago and I have lived in it for 50 years. The school in the same dip was built less than 20 years ago. Quite often my drive is blocked. Some parents like to park on the pavement. Why only they know. Perhaps they feel the cars computer must be on level ground. Why should I move besides what came first the horse and cart or the motor car.
Smoking dope is illegal, but I get stoned just walking through parts of Margate and Ramsgate! If they can’t/won’t stop that, they’re not going to stop people smoking legal cigarettes. Whatever one’s thoughts on the issue, this is a waste of time and money.
Must take you back to the Summer Of Love & you don’t even have to pay to get high!
I’m not THAT old (I was four in ’67!).
And Broadstairs high street Peter ! There’s around six places as you walk down the high street where you are overcome with the strong strench of weed !
Absolutely ridiculous. Sick to the back teeth with Labour and all of their nanny nonsense. If this comes into play, I’ll boycott the already dying High Streets. How about they do something about the real issues at these locations – tooled up teenagers in the parks, drug dealing and using in the High Streets, addicts and alcoholics running amok in the Town Centres, e-scooters being aimed at the elderly etc???
Starmer & his cronies-at national & local level, love his plan to freeze thousands of elderly to death this winter & letting dangerous criminals out early to make way for people shouting at police dogs, or being loud-but not taking part in any violence, like the physically & mentally unwell guy who topped himself in jail recently-even the far-leftie Grauniad said jail was not the place for him.
Joke -Have e-scooters been “aimed at the elderly” and if so, where and when? Why has the editor not published an article about it?
Pollyanna, why are you defending e-scooters? They are used by reckless riders who are mostly oblivious to the dangers they are creating for themselves and for innocent bystanders. If you are elderly, and you see a scooter approaching you at 20mph, then the perception is that they are being aimed directly at you. Sometimes perception is reality.
Mr. Shacklock- I’m not “defending e-scooters” at all. In fact, I think they should be banned from public spaces. But I do want to know if bicycle -and e-scooter riders really did try to ride into elderly people a few days ago. I am in Ramsgate town centre most weekdays, and have not seen this happen.
Apologies, Pollyanna, I thought you were defending these hooligans because you seemed doubtful they were aiming at the elderly. Given that most of these scooters are already illegal, I’d prefer to treat the riders as guilty until proven innocent. It’s probably impossible to prove they are deliberately aiming at specific people, but if you’re in the line of sight of one of these speeding machines then it certainly feels like you’re a target. And how can you be confident they have sufficient reflexes and steering skills to swerve out of your way in time? If they’re really that clever, then they should join a circus instead of turning our pedestrianised zones into no-go areas.
Joke -Have e-scooters been “aimed at the elderly” and if so, where and when? Why has the editor not published an article about it?
As a non-smoker who doesn’t like cigarette smoke, I say it is just more nanny state/1984 Stalin Starmer nonsense. More likely just an excuse for the council to collect fines from people smoking. Taking away smoking rooms where non-smokers were protected in the 2000’s didn’t help smokers-it just pushed them all outside with non-smokers.
So you ban smoking, but we are all still breathing in vehicle & plane fumes not only whenever we are out, but when we open our windows in far greater amounts. You walk past somebody & the cigarette smell is gone-literally seconds & you don’t encounter it much these days, wherever you walk outdoors you are breathing in poisionous fumes constantly.
I remember 15 or so years ago when they briefly had inspectors fining people for dropping cigarette butts in Margate – they’d pounce on little old ladies outside Boots, but ignore the hundreds smoking outside night clubs on a Friday evening. It will be exactly the same with this – only enforced when it’s easy.
Ah yes-the company of cowboys who were accusing people with no proof & cases were getting thrown out of court & eventually lost the contract when their own workers were filmed (in the alley at the back of Dreamland I believe) dropping their cigarettes/rubbish & walking away. Also had complaints about them all over the country, where they were operating for various councils.
I would much prefer it if they used the money to crack down on people smoking weed all along Ramsgate East Cliff and Ramsgate Pier at night. They would be able to smell it a mile off so wouldn’t be a difficult job.
And why is it that sea fishing off the Pier always seems to attract potheads and alcoholics ? Most people fishing off that Pier are either smoking weed or necking cans of Stella. All driving there and back too.
to be honest tdc and kcc should get their acts together and stop creating daft schemes . if people wish to smoke or not is entirely up to that person. if people dont like it in pubs let the non smokers stand outside in the rain.
they should be looking at schemes like filling in the many potholes around thanet. we are living in 2025 not 1066
It\’s not about the ozone layer or protecting people from harm its purely to catch people smoking in these areas to raise money via fines for the council
What a load of bull
Are they going to ban bonfires too.
Are they going to fine companies too for emitting fumes and smoke from their companies chimneys.
Tell me something.If someone is caught smoking in these area\’s are they going to be told not to do it again and let them go on their way or will they immediately be fined.
Will they be banning smoking at Westwood Cross too? Or is that out of scope because it’s private land?
Has anybody done the maths? Will this result in a net loss or gain or increase in High Street footfall? Will it make the High Street more convivial or more clinical?
I like to know who is going to enforce this ,because the same happens when TDC puts double yellow lines in areas no one polices it 🤔 so it’s a waste of time and money.
Well on the bright side it’s very reassuring that the nation has no other issues to deal with and that there is the time and resources to create new measures to create some infinitesimally small benefit to everyone.
Would be much better to have inspectors on the streets with sets of scales fining the obese, thus raising revenue for the nhs to treat the effects of their gluttony. It’d have the benefit to everyone else of not being stuck in quite such a long queue.