A third beach on Gower is to go smoke-free. Port Eynon in Swansea is to join the smoke-free beaches campaign aimed at protecting local wildlife and the environment from the harms of cigarette waste. Langland Bay and Caswell Bay are already signed-up to the campaign as is Little Heaven in Pembrokeshire.
The new smoke-free initiative has been spearheaded by tobacco control charity ASH Wales Visitors to the beach will be encouraged to not smoke via a voluntary no-smoking initiative, which will be signposted at the beach’s main entry points. Charity CEO Suzanne Cass said: ‘’We are delighted that Swansea Council have taken proactive steps in protecting the coastline, which will aid wider efforts to create a greener and more sustainable Wales. The smoke-free initiative will encourage visitors to think about how cigarette waste can affect the environment, and the wildlife that call the coastline home. I would encourage other councils across Wales to consider how they too can make a difference’’.
The initiative follows the latest annual survey from the Marine Conservation Society which found Welsh beaches held the highest amount of cigarette litter in Great Britain in 2021. It found an average of 64.2 cigarette butts per 100m of Welsh beach in 2021.
Cigarette butts take up to 12 years to break down and as they do they leach nicotine and heavy metals before turning into microplastic pollution. Studies have shown the toxicity of cigarette butts have found them to contain approximately 4,000 harmful chemicals, which can ultimately seep into the environment.
A Swansea Council spokesman said: “The council fully supports initiatives to protect the coastline for residents, visitors, and for future generations to come. We hope the voluntary initiative will encourage visitors to take the small steps needed to make a big difference in protecting our environment’’.
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