Artwork by a pupil from Tockwith Church of England Primary School has been included in a national policy document produced by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
As a result of a regional competition to design signs for smoke-free play areas, artwork by Cali Evans, from Year 4, came to the attention of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). They liked it so much they used it in their guidance document to protect children from second-hand smoke in motor vehicles.
Ian Gray, Principal Policy Officer for the CIEH, said: “Our members have been very impressed by the work being done in Yorkshire to promote smoke-free environments, and when we saw this competition and the great artwork that had been entered I asked if we could share some of it.
“It was fantastic to see that local children had produced so many positive messages in their designs, and Cali’s work is great. I’m delighted we could include it.”
“We want children to be the pioneers of a smoke-free generation: within the next decade we can have a generation of children that are smoke-free,” said County Councillor David Chance, Executive Member for Stronger Communities and Public Health.
“We are working with our partners to see a generation of children that don’t smoke by 2025. We are supporting a campaign called Breathe 2025, which is about how all of us can inspire and help them to make that happen.”
Scott Crosby, Regional Tobacco Policy Manager for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “I was delighted to see the success of the competition and am really glad Cali took part. The new laws about smoke-free places link closely to the Breathe 2025 campaign running across Yorkshire which aims to inspire a generation of children where smoking is a thing of the past.”
Children with winning designs were presented with certificates and a range of prizes, including book tokens provided by CIEH.