Habit dies hard for town smokers

By Kevin Leonard
BBC News

Posters warn shoppers in Cwmbran where smoking is forbidden

The ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Wales has been in force for more than a year, but it is proving a hard habit to break in one town.

The centre of Cwmbran, Wales' first new town, is an unusual mix of open areas and partly-covered malls.

The Torfaen town's lay-out appears to have caused smokers confusion about where they can and cannot light up.

This is despite posters and public address announcements telling shoppers where smoking is forbidden.

In a crackdown last month in the town centre, more than 100 smokers were given warnings over a two-hour period.

On Wednesday, 10 fixed penalty notices of £50, or £30 if paid promptly, were handed out to people smoking illegally in the town centre, mostly around the bus station.

I can understand not smoking in pubs and cafes because they are enclosed - but we've got the wind blowing down here! Hazel Stephens

To put this into context, there were only 79 fines in the whole of Wales in the first year of the ban.

The town's shopping centre managers said the message was now getting across, a point supported by the fact that I failed to spot a single person smoking illegally during my two-hour visit.

But it may also have had something to do with the police training day which saw officers swarming around the town centre.

However, some smokers were still having an illicit puff, according to one coach driver.

Colin Bull, who has reservations about the ban despite being a non-smoker, said: "I was up there this morning having a cup of coffee and saw about four or five people smoking.

"I think the attitude of a lot of people was, 'I'm having a fag and if you don't like it, tough'."

Shopping centre managers said it was easy to distinguish where you can and cannot smoke.

We don't smoke under anything with a roof or top on... we're very law-abiding, aren't we? Joyce Phillips

Tim Barry, operations manager of Cwmbran Shopping, said: "Any covered mall area is deemed to be non-smoking.

"By virtue of the press and the communications, the message is gradually getting over."

'Numerous complaints'

Joyce Phillips, 71, who was having a cigarette with a friend in one of the town's open spaces, said it was easy to work out the areas where smoking was forbidden.

"We don't smoke under anything with a roof or top on," she said. "We're very law-abiding, aren't we?"

But the rules were less clear to other smokers.

Taxi driver Martyn Morris said: "I do tend to forget when I go in the town because I just don't tend to look around for the signs."

Teresa Barter, from Cwmbran, admitted she had been warned about smoking illegally shortly after the ban was brought in.

"I used to smoke outside a cafe and someone from security came up to me and said 'you can't smoke there'," she said.

Torfaen council said Cwmbran town centre had been the subject of "numerous complaints" to environmental health officers and town centre management since the smoking legislation was introduced.

A council spokesperson said: "We wish to remind everyone that smoking is not allowed in any covered area of the town centre, which includes all areas within the bus station, and that anyone found smoking risks receiving a fine."

But not all the smokers in town were convinced.

Hazel Stephens said: "I can understand not smoking in pubs and cafes because they are enclosed - but we've got the wind blowing down here!"