03 September 2015
Trinity School has won a competition to highlight the introduction of a new anti-smoking law.
From 1 September it became illegal in Jersey to smoke in a vehicle carrying young people under the age of 18. The Island is the first place in the British Isles to introduce this move.
In June, the Public Health Department launched a smoke-free cars campaign aimed at increasing awareness of the harm of second-hand smoke, and to inform island residents about the new legislation.
15 primary schools signed up to take part in a smoke-free cars competition. Each school child was given a sign-up pack with car stickers and an information leaflet to take home to their families.
Families were asked to sign up to confirm their car was already smoke-free or that they would make it smoke-free before the law came into force. The school with the highest proportion of forms returned would win the competition.
Second-hand smoke
Staff from Public Health visited several primary school assemblies to tell pupils about the competition. Help2Quit co-ordinator Dr Rhona Reardon said “We were impressed by the level of awareness many of the pupils had about the new law and by how knowledgeable they were about the harms of second-hand smoke.”
A total of 478 pledge forms were received from participating schools, listing almost 1,400 cars belonging to parents (861 vehicles) and grandparents (520 vehicles) that would be smoke-free from the start of September.
Head Teacher of Trinity School, Nichola Turner, said “We were pleased to support this very important campaign and it’s a lovely start to the new term to be declared the winners of the competition.”
Good health
The prize of £250 worth of vouchers for sports equipment will be presented by Assistant Minister for Health, Connétable John Refault, on Friday 4 September at the school assembly.
Connétable Refault said “I’m really proud to have been part of this work supporting the protection of children through smoke free cars. Young people are our Island’s future, protecting local children from the known harms of tobacco is essential, and this law change is another positive step to securing the future good health of our population.”
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