Extending Smoke-free Outdoor Spaces in Wales

Wales has implemented some of the most comprehensive smoke-free legislation in the UK, progressively extending protections from second-hand smoke (SHS) beyond enclosed public places and workplaces into a range of environments including those used by children and families. Through the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 and the Smoke-free Premises and Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2020, smoke-free requirements were extended to school grounds, public playgrounds, outdoor childcare and early years settings, vehicles carrying children and hospital grounds. Subsequent measures further expanded smoke-free protections to self-contained holiday accommodation and mental health units. Collectively, these developments reflect a broader shift in tobacco control policy
from solely protecting individuals from SHS exposure towards creating environments where smoking is less visible, less acceptable, and increasingly viewed as outside the social norm.

This shift is particularly important for children and young people, whose attitudes and behaviours are influenced by the environments in which they live, learn and socialise. By reducing the visibility and
acceptability of smoking in everyday settings, smoke-free policies can contribute to the denormalisation of tobacco use, helping to reduce smoking uptake among future generations while continuing to protect non-smokers from SHS exposure. Opportunities remain to strengthen these benefits in outdoor public spaces that are not currently covered by legislation, including parks, beaches, sports and recreational facilities, transport waiting areas, outdoor events and hospitality
settings, where extending smoke-free policies has the potential to reduce both exposure to SHS and the visibility of smoking in places frequented by children and families, supporting wider ambitions for a Smoke-free Wales.

At a UK level, the Tobacco and Vapes Act present a significant opportunity to strengthen tobacco control and support the creation of a smoke-free generation. In addition to measures designed to phase out the sale of tobacco products to future generations, the Act includes powers to extend smoke-free restrictions (and create vape-free indoor and outdoor public places – not covered by this briefing), providing a legislative mechanism for further policy development in Wales.

This briefing should be read alongside the earlier Public Health Wales (2022) policy briefing, ‘Extending Wales’s Current Smoke-free Legislation into Further Public Outdoor Spaces’. The earlier briefing established the public health rationale for extending smoke-free outdoor environments in Wales, while this update incorporates findings from a recent rapid evidence review. Together, the two documents provide the most current evidence base to support future policy development in Wales.