Brighten up (and no lighting up) in Nottingham
Nottingham City Council is stubbing out smoking in the city and they’re focusing on you – young people right here in Notts! Pupils at the city’s primary schools have been asked to design an emotive poster asking smokers not to light up at a number of family events this summer. Smoking is an addiction of childhood, not an adult choice. Two thirds of all smokers start before the age of 18 years. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are also far more likely to suffer from asthma, middle ear infections, chest infections and breathing problems. Adult smoking prevalence for Nottingham is 24%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 18% and around 75 children in Nottingham under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year as a result of being exposed to second-hand smoke and many more need to visit their GP. This is very serious stuff.
Nottingham has a long-term vision to inspire a smoke-free generation and encouraging people not to smoke in outdoor public places is really important. This is because it shows young people that smoking is the exception rather than the rule. In 2015, Nottingham’s Beach, in Old Market Square, was a completely smoke-free event for the first time. The idea proved to be really popular, with an overwhelming majority of people saying that they wanted the authority to introduce more. This year the City Council is being more ambitious by aiming for a Smoke-free Summer with many more events aimed at children and families, including Splendour and the Riverside Festival.
The council wants your art-work to be part of this push and need you to design a poster which urges smokers not to light up at summer events this year. We will choose a number of posters that will be displayed at key city events, including the Beach and Riverside Festival. The winning pupils will be invited to a special ceremony where they will be presented with a prize and their artwork will be put up for thousands of people to see.
What we need
– The artwork should be on A4 paper, bright and colourful.
– The message should be smokefree and positive, i.e. ‘children run better when smokefree’, etc.
– It can be a picture and a slogan (we would like to move away from the traditional image of a red cross over a cigarette, if possible).
– The idea is for the poster to be emotive and ask smokers not to light up at a summer event where children will be present.
The deadline for entries is Friday 27 May and you can either choose to submit all your posters, or hold a school vote to decide on the best two or three to go forward.
They should be sent to Kate Smith, Smokefree Nottingham Coordinator, Smokefree Nottingham, Community Protection, Loxley House, LH Box 45, Station Street, Nottingham NG2 3NG. We’ll also share the winning entries on Opportunity Notts!
Kate can be contacted at kate.smith2@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or 0115 876 3944 if you have any further questions.
Why we’re holding a Smokefree Summer
– Provide positive smokefree role models for children and young people.
– Reduce their exposure to smoking so it’s not seen as a ‘normal’ activity.
– Increase the number of designated outdoor smokefree areas across Nottingham to de-normalise smoking for adults.
– Reduce the environmental and financial impact of littering of cigarette butts and packets.
– Empower parents and carers to speak up and be more vocal about not wanting their children to be around smoking.
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