Smoke Free Environments
Two reports have been produced providing a comprehensive initial evaluation of the Smoke-Free Environments Project which was central to the implementation of the smoke-free legislation in April last year.
The first report, compiled by the Project Manager considers the regional approach taken in the delivery of the smoke-free message and the impact of the team of smoke free environment officers employed throughout NI to advise the commercial sector and assist businesses in achieving compliance. The report acknowledges the role of Western Group Environmental Health and of Omagh District Council in supporting the NI Smoke-Free Environments Team. They undertook recruitment of the team, assisted with human resource issues and provided a huge amount of administrative support all of which was undertaken in addition to existing workloads.
The second report was produced by the Smoke-Free Marketing Officer employed for the project and details the impact that marketing and the media had on the implementation of the legislation. The report states that “the strategic marketing approach by the Smoke-Free Environments Team and NI Environmental Health contributed significantly to the successful implementation of smoke-free legislation in NI, helping build the foundations for high levels of compliance.”
The Smoke-Free Environments Team and NI Environmental Health Service contributed significantly to the press and media coverage relating to smoke-free legislation. The environmental health input achieved a 60% share of the voice across the main stakeholders within NI (namely Ulster Cancer Foundation, Health Promotion Agency, NI Federation of Licensed Retail Trade, The Department of Health Social Services & Public Safety and Chest Heart and Stroke). This helped to raise the profile of Local Government Environmental Health Services as perceived by the NI media during the introduction of the smoke-free legislation, contributing to a significant increase in awareness, particularly in March, April and May 07 when the highest volumes of press coverage were received. Overall, 521 smoke-free press articles made specific reference to Environmental Health in relation to the key messages of contacting the service for further advice (52% of total press coverage) or by outlining their role as the smoke-free monitoring and enforcement agency (25% of total press coverage).
Copies of the two reports are available for further reference.
