Smoking ban in public places in Wales introduced 18 years ago

They are the first adults in Wales to have never known a smoke-filled bar or club. To have lived their whole lives unaccustomed to the smell of cigarettes lingering on clothes after a night out.

It is 18 years since the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in Wales to reduce the effect of second-hand smoke.

The legislation was a milestone in shifting attitudes, according to one public health expert.

But with smoking still the norm in some areas, Prof Graham Moore said further work was needed to achieve smoke-free goals.

The Welsh government said children’s exposure to smoke had reduced and fewer people were being admitted to hospital for heart attacks and childhood asthma.

Smoking rates have fallen dramatically, though questions have been raised around the glamorisation of cigarettes in popular culture.

“It surprises me actually how many of my friends do smoke, or have smoked and then given up,” said 21-year-old Swansea University student Henry Gillard.

“I suppose it’s one of those things that you think is cool when you’re younger, and you try it.

“Even with a smoking ban in pubs, people do still smoke quite a lot.”

His friend Anton Beugelink, 21, said vaping was “definitely a lot more popular”.

Cameron Mattu, 20, said he does not smoke but a lot of young people were afraid to admit it because of the associated health risks.

“It’s a lot more hidden. People do it in secret now.”

Jenny Phuwichit, 20, said she vapes every day, and does not feel that health warnings around smoking had impacted young people.

“I see people on the streets, smoking and vaping, next to younger kids as well, they’re not really caring,” she said.

“[The risk] is just kind of ignored,” she said, “people will do it anyway.”

Pub owner Vicky Morgans from Swansea recalled the “smelly clothes and stained ceilings” before she introduced the ban a month earlier at West Cross Inn.

“It was going to come anyway. Some customers weren’t particularly happy, others were delighted with it,” she said.

“It did have a massive impact on our drinking culture. It nose-dived overnight. But, we were making progress in our food-led side of the business.

“Fortunately, we survived, where perhaps others didn’t.”

Prof Graham Moore from Cardiff University said “targeted work and support” would be required for those who wanted to give up, in areas where smoking rates remained high.

“When you grow up with it, where smoking is the norm, you are much more likely to take it up yourself,” he said.

“In particular neighbourhoods you are much more likely to be surrounded by retail outlets selling it, so it becomes more pervasive in their lives.

“There are still areas where smoking is quite the norm.

“There are definitely groups where smoking rates haven’t been tackled as extensively as at a population level. Historically people with mental health difficulties for example – rates of smoking are really high and have not come down as much as the population level.”

However, previous research showed the 2007 legislation had helped to shape a different attitude.

“A lot of young people have no real experience of being exposed to tobacco, but of those that did, there was a sense of disgust where they encountered it in the street.”

He added that about 7% of children leave secondary school as smokers, but recent surveys have suggested a slight drop in smoking, after previously flatlining.

While the goal was to protect the next generation from the harms of smoking, the health service still sees the ongoing cost of generations of adults who smoked, with deprived communities disproportionately affected.

It is estimated there were 17,195 hospital admissions per year in Wales due to smoking – an average of 3.4% of all admissions of those were aged 35 and over.

Research by Public Health Wales (PHW) also showed on average among that age group, 10.7% of all deaths in Wales (3,845) were also associated with smoking.

Lung cancer was also the leading cause of cancer deaths in the UK, with around 1,900 deaths in Wales alone each year.

Work is still under way on a bill – introduced by the previous UK government – to ban the sale of tobacco to everyone born after 1 January 2009.

The Welsh government has a goal for Wales to be smoke-free by 2030, meaning a prevalence rate in adults of 5% or less.

PHW research suggested in 2022-23 prevalence was 13%.

The Welsh government said: “The introduction of smoke-free spaces 18 years ago was the first big step in making smoke-free the norm, helping to encourage people to stop smoking and changing our view of smoking.

“Since then, Wales has taken further action, including becoming the first part of the UK to ban smoking in hospital grounds, public playgrounds and school grounds.

“This was real step forward in improving Wales’ public health. Children’s exposure to harmful second-hand smoke has reduced; more people have made the decision to stop smoking and fewer people are being admitted to hospital for heart attacks and for childhood asthma.”