Warwickshire firemen are a smoke-free zone
Two Warwickshire firemen who have given cigarettes the push and become ‘smoke free zones’ had their achievements rewarded on Thursday 31st May - World No Tobacco Day.
Scott Barter, Crew Manger for Bedworth Fire Station, and Marcus Giles, Crew Manager for Coleshill Fire Station, were each awarded a £50 Marks & Spencers gift voucher for successfully quitting smoking.
The vouchers were presented to them by Warwickshire’s Chief Fire Officer, William Brown, at the headquarters of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service in Leamington Spa.
William Brown said: "It takes hard work and determination to quit smoking and I congratulate Marcus and Scott on the effort they have made to get this far and I am sure they will keep going.
“Whilst quitting smoking has a beneficial impact on people’s health I hope it will also help to reduce the number of fires in the home and the countryside, where devastating fires can start as the result of carelessly discarded matches and cigarettes.”
Warwickshire County Council employees who wanted to give up smoking were invited to take part in a ‘Quitters Challenge’ earlier this year as part of the council’s healthy workforce initiative.
Special ‘Stop Smoking Advisors’, members of staff who had been approved to offer stop smoking advice by Warwickshire NHS Stop Smoking Services, provided a network of support to county council employees who wanted to quit.
A staff survey had revealed that, out of those employees who took part, 74% of those who smoked want to quit the habit, a figure well above the national average for smokers that want to quit.
On 14th March this year, No Smoking Day, the county council’s updated Smoke Free Workplace Policy came into effect. The Government’s Health Act 2006 will see virtually all workplaces in England become smoke-free environments by 1 July 2007.
William Brown concluded: “Last year in Warwickshire there were a number of fires linked to smokers’ materials. Let’s hope this number will be reduced as more people follow the example set by Marcus and Scott."