PEOPLE in Liverpool face a ban on smoking in their own homes as part of new rules to outlaw exposure to second-hand smoke. A council committee will this week discuss changes to the town hall’s existing anti-smoking policy to help staff fall in line with a new ban on smoking in public from July 1. Residents in the city will be told not to smoke for at least half an hour prior to pre-arranged visits to their homes by council employees. They will also be asked to open windows if they have been smoking. And they will be told not to smoke during visits. Although the council will not be able to force householders to comply with the measure, the council’s spokesman on smoking, Cllr Ron Gould, says he believes it will only be a matter of time before the voluntary ban becomes enforceable. He said last night: “This is not about telling people whether they should or should not smoke, but it is a measure designed to protect council staff from exposure to second-hand smoke. It is not an unreasonable request and will be seen more and more from agencies that send staff into the homes of clients. “We have planning officers, enforcement officers and a whole range of council personnel who are required to go to homes across the city as part of their jobs. We need to ensure they are protected. “I believe that the smoking law will eventually be extended to cover situations where public servants visit people’s homes as part of their official duties.” The proposed changes to the council no smoking policy were drawn up by the council’s own Health and Safety Unit. It sets its objective as establishing a healthy environment for all people – councillors, employees, service users and the public – either employed or visiting council property or travelling in council vehicles. The new smoking measures will not apply to people living in council-run residential accommodation. Residents there will be permitted to smoke in designated areas. The report adds: “In circumstances where staff are undertaking prearranged visits, service users will be requested to refrain from smoking in their own homes prior to and during the visit.” Risk assessment exercises will be carried out in cases where exposure to tobacco smoke cannot be prevented. The new policy will be debated on Wednesday by the council’s resources and corporate services select committee. Although the new law does not prevent smoking outdoors, the council will ban education staff from smoking in school playgrounds while those areas are being used by children under 16. A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said last night: “We are most emphatically not banning people from smoking in their own home. “As of July 1 smoking is banned from all public work places. If a member of staff visits a resident’s home, this venue is then classed as a workplace for the purpose of the visit. “We are asking people not to smoke for around 30 minutes before the appointment takes place, or recommend that they hold the meeting in a room where cigarettes haven’t been smoked. “This is all about protecting the health of staff . This is a request, nothing more, nothing less. We’re sure most people will recognise this is a reasonable request for the health and safety of our staff.” A spokesman for Forest, the pressure group established to defend the right to smoke, said last night the voluntary ban could lead to dangers if it became part of the law. “Our view is that when somebody comes to your home it is common courtesy not to smoke if they do not want you to. The danger is that eventually these guidelines could be used to withhold council services from people who, through their council taxes, have paid for those services.”
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