Manchester to ban smoking in city centre

Manchester has followed Spain’s suit shortly after it imposed a smoking ban on some of its public beaches by proposing to ban smoking in city centre areas, such as around the Ethiad stadium, Piccadilly Gardens and St Peter’s Square. 

The proposed move to make certain areas around the North-West city smoke-free is a new project intended to offer an education-first approach to reducing the amount of people who smoke. In 2021, 13.5% of adults in the UK (around 5.5) smoked cigarettes.

The new motion will not fine those smoking in these public areas or any other by-laws, but instead ask those with a cigarette to stub it out or leave the smoke-free zone if they want to smoke it. 

Manchester city is also developing a new green space behind the city’s new Mayfield Park, set to open in August 2022 between Piccadilly Station and the Mancunion Way. It has been suggested by developers that this remain a smoke-free space as well, which would include the new car park close by Piccadilly Station. 

The smoking-ban proposal is a result of the participation of Greater Manchester with the Partnership of Healthy Cities, who’s main aim is to prevent noncommunicable diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. 

Members of the public will also be consulted about the proposed plans and be asked about which areas of the city they’d like to see become smoke-free, with plans set to come into force in March 2023. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.