Leaders decide on a SmokeFree Liverpool

September 14, 2004 - PRESS RELEASE

Leaders decide on a SmokeFree Liverpool

A SmokeFree Liverpool is on the menu at a special breakfast meeting to be attended by a visionary Liverpool group.

Leaders of Merseyside's civil, business and community sectors who form the 100-strong Common Purpose Group will meet on Thursday September 16th to share a debate on a SmokeFree Liverpool before casting their final vote.

The meeting, which takes place at Sefton Park's Palm House, comes as findings from a new survey reveal that more than half of Liverpool's workplaces are already smokefree.

And as the impact on Liverpool's business community is debated the survey, carried out this summer, revealed that 82% of businesses who introduced smokefree policies found productivity unaffected while 10% noted an increase.

More than 300 premises, including garages, constructions sites, pubs and clubs were surveyed with the hospitality sector least likely to be smokefree.

Two-thirds of the respondents accepted that second-hand smoke had a negative effect on people's health and a further 59% of businesses without smokefree policies expressed interest in finding out more information.

Mark Brandreth, project Director of SmokeFree Liverpool hopes the Common Purpose debate will put the effects of second-hand tobacco smoke in the workplace firmly at the top of the city's agenda.

"It is a great opportunity for SmokeFree Liverpool to talk to 100 of the great and good from the various sectors of Merseyside and to try and gain their support for the campaign.

"Common Purpose is about bringing people together to improve the city which is consistent with what SmokeFree Liverpool is trying to do by protecting worker's health and reducing smoking related deaths.

"Many of the people attending also employ or manage large numbers of staff and it's a great opportunity for them to get involved and find out how they can protect the health of the people who work for them.

"At the end of the meeting we will be asking for a show of hands and we will be releasing the findings of that vote."

For further information contact Roger Kenyon at Kenyon Fraser on 0151 706 9932.
Voting results will be available from 10am on Thursday September 16th.

Note to editors:
Common Purpose is a campaigning organisation that believes the UK needs more diverse leaders.
To this end, Common Purpose runs leadership development programmes for leaders of all ages, backgrounds and sectors.

Since 1989, more than 60,000 people have been involved in Common Purpose and over 16,000 leaders from every area of the UK have completed one or more of its programmes.

More than 70 per cent of FTSE 100 companies and many small business and organisations across all sectors have used Common Purpose for professional development.

For more information on Common Purpose visit www.commonpurpose.org.uk