Making your home smokefree will help reduce the risk to family members, visitors, pets (who can also get cancer and other illnesses from breathing second-hand smoke) and workers who come to your home.
It will also save you money on cleaning, decorating and repair costs – as your property won’t be damaged by smoke – and reduce the chance of a fire in your home.
Here’s some tips to help you keep your home smokefree
- Go right outside to smoke, and don’t come back inside until your cigarette is out.
- Step right out – at least 7 steps away from an open door.
- Do not leave young children unattended – ask someone you trust to watch them while you pop out.
- Don’t let anyone smoke indoors. Ask them to go outside and tell them you are keeping your home smoke-free for your family.
- To make it easy for you - keep an umbrella by your door so it’s easy to go outside, whatever the weather. Keep a ceramic pot with water or sand outside to dispose of cigarettes safely – empty this periodically straight into your outside bin; don’t bring cigarette ends inside.
- Think about how you can make smoking outside part of your usual, daily routine. Do you already go outside for short periods, for example if you walk down to a bus stop, or if you take bottles to a bank for recycling? You could use these outdoor walks as a smoking opportunity.
Smokefree cars
Smoking inside cars results in very high concentrations of smoke, due to the small, enclosed space. Because of this, a law was brought in (in 2015) making it illegal to smoke in a vehicle when an under 18 is present.
Find out more about the law
To avoid any harm to others – it’s best never to smoke inside your car.