Cigarette-Free Summer? Councillor Working To Ban Smoking From Malta’s Largest Beach
Mellieħa councillor Gabriel Micallef is in talks with fellow council members to introduce the first ‘cigarette-free beach’ in Malta.
The councillor has been receiving several emails from concerned residents looking to rid local beaches of cigarette butts. Needless to say, Micallef took these suggestions on board and launched a survey on his Facebook page looking to learn more about residents’ opinions on this initiative.
One particularly concerned resident said that their “child [was] using cigarette ends as a decoration for a sand castle”.
Councillor Micallef went on to say that apart from improving the aesthetic value of our beaches – which would work wonders for the tourism industry – this incentive will also help improve both public health and the natural environment.
Presently, Micallef believes that Għadira Bay would be the ideal beach to test out this incentive on. This is due to the fact that it is well within reach of cleaning and surveillance services, thus facilitating the upkeep of the initiative.
The Mellieħa councillor stated if this initiative is realised, beach-goers could still be able to smoke in designated smoking areas around the relevant beaches.