BARNSLEY Hospital has teamed up with the council to become the first hospital in the country to have smoke-free road areas.
The hospital is currently a smoke-free site but fro today (July 28) the parts of Pogmoor Road and Gawber Road that surround the hospital will also be smoke-free.
This is a further step as part of making smoking 'invisible' across the borough to help discourage young people from picking up the habit.
A sign has been created by 11-year-old Jasmine Hurdiss to help promote the initiative.
Barnsley Hospital Trust chief executive, Dr Richard Jenkins said: “By making smoking invisible, we can contribute to children and adults not taking up the habit as it reduces smoking being seen as a normal activity.
“Most people in Barnsley don’t smoke, and the numbers that do are falling - less than two in ten people now smoke in the borough.
“The QUIT programme at the hospital recognises that smoking is an addiction that often starts in childhood and needs medical treatment to support people to stop. Therefore, making smoking invisible in areas around the hospital and where children frequent is very important.”
