Ashtray Art

To celebrate the creativity of young people and to welcome the protection provided by the smokefree legislation, young people at The Big Event used redundant ashtrays to create an art message “QUIT B 4 IT’s 2 L8” .

On 1 July, 2007 England went smokefree. Rather than simply throwing away ashtrays that were no longer needed, Environment and Health suggested that Swindon’s pubs, restaurants and bingo halls exchanged them for personal butt pouches. These personal ashtrays will be used to encourage customers to dispose of their cigarette stubs in an environmentally friendly and safe manner.

Before the ashtrays were recycled, some of Swindon’s young people, under the supervision of the Swindon Youth Service used them to send out a health message. The Big Event, held at The Link Centre on Saturday 7 July, was organised to promote the activities of Swindon’s Youth Service. This was an exciting day for young people in Swindon and many discovered the wide variety of events and services on offer from the Youth Service. There were bands playing, sports competitions and a variety of stands as well as a BBQ available.