SMOKERS will be asked to stub out their cigarettes in a Kendal bar next month thanks to a pioneering scheme to encourage people to lead healthier lives.
The bar at Kendal Leisure Centre will become a smoke-free zone on September 1 as part of a drive by South Lakeland Leisure and Morecambe Bay NHS Primary Care Trust to encourage healthier lifestyles and to create a more comfortable family-friendly atmosphere at the centre.
Specialist smoking cessation adviser for Morecambe Bay PCT Melanie Abbott said: "This initiative is really good news.
"It means that both staff and visitors to the leisure centre, particularly young children, will be able to enjoy an atmosphere free from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke."
Research carried out by the PCT also found that around 85 per cent of people in Morecambe Bay, including smokers, were in favour of smoke-free public places.
John Lyons, the chairman of South Lakeland Leisure, the not-for-profit company which also manages Ulverston Leisure Centre and Windermere Outdoor Adventure Centre, which are both already non-smoking venues, said: "We consulted bar users and centre users and found that they would welcome a smoke-free environment. Smoke and fitness do not go hand in hand."
The leisure centre will also be running a six-week exercise programme to coincide with the bar on cigarettes.
Mr Lyons also hopes to use the smoking ban to reinvent the leisure centre bar as an alternative for those who want to watch sports on the big screen in an atmosphere more conducive to families with children.
"Dads who want to bring their kids in to watch the Premiership football can now do so in a smoke-free environment," he said.
The person whose job it will be to tell people to put out their cigarettes is barmaid Pam Pickering.
She has been surprised by the positive response to the ban from regular customers in the bar.
"Some people are looking on it as the chance they've been looking for, for years, to actually give up smoking," said Mrs Pickering.
Anyone who needs help to stop smoking can contact Morecambe Bay NHS Trust Stop Smoking Service on 01524-845145.
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