A BAN on selling smoking products which has been slapped on market traders will be rolled out across the whole of the £130m Glass Works development.
Coun Roy Miller said he wanted families and children to enjoy a smoke-free town and market, and insists development managers are pleased with the level of interest from retailers despite the ban.
He said it would not impact on ‘productive, ongoing discussions’.
But he could not say if it would apply to other tenants in council-owned buildings in other areas.
Coun Miller said: “The council supports the market traders and independent retailers who are at the heart of Barnsley’s unique shopping experience.
“We have provided a suitable amount of time for existing traders to phase out their current stock of smoking related products and to adapt their product lines so they can continue to thrive in the town centre.
“We want families, especially children, to be able to enjoy our town and market area without smoking being present. As well as the benefits to health, we also hope to see a reduction in cigarette litter in the area, which looks unpleasant and is costly to clean up.
“We are committed to applying the smoke free approach consistently across the whole of The Glass Works, not just within the markets. Our development managers, Queensberry, are supportive of this approach. They continue to be very pleased by the level of interest in the scheme from a wide variety of potential retailers and restaurants, from high street names to smaller regional businesses, and do not envisage that this policy will have an impact on these productive ongoing discussions. The primary aim of The Glass Works is to create a safe and welcoming family-friendly destination and we believe that this commitment is an important step to realising that ambition.”
Coun Jim Andrews, public health spokesman, said the ban is around the sale of tobacco smoking related materials, and not nicotine. He said it is the other components in tobacco which are harmful, including tar and carbon monoxide.
He said treating e-cigarettes in the same manner as tobacco sends a misleading message that smoking tobacco and using e-cigarettes are equivalent in terms of risk.
He said: “E-cigarettes are substantially less harmful for users than tobacco cigarettes, with no known health risks to bystanders and are the most popular device used in attempts to stop smoking.
“E-cigarettes also have the potential to improve public health. This is based on the evidence set out in Public Health England’s most recent independent review and the Royal College of Physicians 2016 report Nicotine Without Smoke: Tobacco Harm Reduction.
“Tobacco use remains the single largest cause of health inequalities, avoidable disease and premature death as well as contributing to family and child poverty.
“Obviously, we would rather that people did not take up smoking at all and that’s why the council is committed to achieving a smoke free generation by 2025 and this includes reducing visible evidence of smoking. Evidence shows that if young people see smoking as part of everyday life they are more likely to smoke themselves so by making smoking invisible to children, we hope to vastly reduce the amount of children and young people picking up the habit.”
