Making a smokefree pledge

Gold
This pledge is to keep your home and car smokefree at all times. It is designed for households with smokers, or non smokers or those giving up ready to commit to keeping their homes and cars smoke free.       

Silver
This pledge is to restrict smoking within your home to one well-ventilated room and never smoke in front of children at home or in your car. It is designed for households where there are smokers who are not yet ready to commit to a gold pledge. It is a step towards the gold award.

Before you make a pledge discuss the issues and benefits with others living in the house or using the car. If you smoke yourself or have smokers in the household talk through how the pledge will affect them. Agree which pledge is most suitable

• if you live with a smoker, be sympathetic of their desire to smoke but point out the health benefits of not smoking
• display the smoke free home sticker on your door and in your car to show that smoking is banned in your home or restricted to one well-ventilated room
• talk to friends, family and visitors about the pledge you have made, encourage them to support you and the project. Let smokers know you’re not rejecting their friendship but only the harmful effects that tobacco smoke has on health
• if you have young children and smoke, make sure you do not leave them on their own if you are going outside or to a specified room to smoke
• consider putting an ashtray near the outside door so that smokers can pick it up when they are going outside to smoke
• if you make a silver pledge ensure the room you smoke in has a window or an outside door, which can be opened. Keep the door leading to the rest of the house closed when people are smoking in the room
• clean the room where smoking is allowed frequently, e.g. empty ashtrays, wash floors or vacuum carpets