MORE than half of Welsh adults would support smoking bans in town centres and outdoor restaurant and café areas as well of in cars.

This is the result of the latest ASH Wales Cymru YouGov survey released today on World No Tobacco Day.

Of those who took part in the survey, 59 per cent said they would support a ban on smoking across town centres in Wales. 63 per cent supported smoking being banned in outdoor eating areas of cafes and restaurants and in all cars.

The survey shows that 47 per cent feel the government does not do enough to reduce smoking in Wales. This is up eight per cent on 2018.

68 per cent would support new government action to reduce smoking rates to less than five per cent by 2035.

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There is also strong support for reducing smoking in young people. 58 per cent support raising the age of tobacco sale to 21 from 18.

83 per cent also called for businesses to need to hold a valid licence to sell tobacco, which would be removed if they were caught selling tobacco to underage people more than once.

67 per cent of those surveyed also support removing smoking from entertainment media aimed towards young people.

The chairman of the Welsh Assembly’s cross party group on smoking, John Griffiths AM, said: “I welcome the latest YouGov survey results which highlight that there is strong support for tackling smoking in Wales.

“The results show that nearly 70 per cent of people would support new action to reduce smoking prevalence in Wales by 2035.

“Smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable mortality and health inequality in Wales and rates have stagnated at 19 per cent since 2015.

“Community based actions at grass roots levels must have the financial support they need to effectively help people quit cigarettes for good.

“I look forward to continuing to work alongside ASH Cymru to further improve smoking cessation services and ensure we soon have a smoke-free Wales.”

The CEO of ASH Wales Cymru, Suzanne Cass, added: “These survey results show just how far we’ve come, from a society in which smoking was regarded as a normal part of daily life, to one where the public are demanding tougher measures to help stamp out this deadly addiction.

“There is now far greater awareness of the devastating health consequences of smoking with the older generation now suffering the consequences of a lifetime of smoking and 5,388 smoking related deaths in Wales alone every year.

“Thanks to a combination of tobacco control measures and campaigns to raise awareness of the impact of smoking on people’s lives, it is gradually become de-normalised, particularly among the all-important younger generation.”

There are 5,388 smoking related deaths annually in Wales and the cost to the Welsh NHS is £302million.

“Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths across Wales – there were 1,891 deaths from lung cancer in 2017 and it accounted for over one in every five cancer deaths – more than bowel and breast cancer combined.