Diane Abbott: London 2012 Olympic health

Shadow Public Health Minister Diane Abbott MP has called on the people of Hackney to back her campaign to make the London 2012 Olympics smoke free.

Ms Abbott, Member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has put pressure on the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to commit to a tobacco ban across the whole Olympic park during the 2012 games by tabling a question in the House of Commons and writing to Lord Coe and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Speaking in The Voice newspaper Ms Abbott said:

“I think it would send out a great message if the Olympic Games were completely smoke-free. We have worked hard to bring the Olympic Games to Britain. It should be a time in which we take a lead and showcase what Britain is about to the rest of the world. Hackney will host a third of the Games area, and I am determined that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is something that the people of Hackney will be proud of.

“I think that people can manage without a fag for the few hours that they are in the Olympic Park. Some people do not get to smoke all day because their offices are smoke-free zones.

“Will the Olympic park be tobacco-free indoors and out? Public health advocates have been urging LOCOG to make the London Olympics tobacco-free since 2009.

“LOCOG has so far done nothing to publicise a commitment to this, and the opportunity to promote a tobacco-free Olympics is slipping away. LOCOG must take the lead on this, urgently.”

Read the full article and further comments by Diane Abbott over at The Voice.