Bibione. Breathe by the sea: the story of a smoke-free beach in Italy

Overview

This publication supports the implementation of the WHO Health 2020 policy. It documents a local smoke-free beach initiative employing whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to address a common public health challenge: smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke in public settings. The key steps in developing the initiative were: recognition of a public health risk, assessment/engagement of stakeholder interest in addressing the risk, enactment of a regulation to reduce the risk (‎banning smoking on the beach)‎ and information for beachgoers promoting the idea and enforcing the ban. The initiative was spearheaded by a champion who led the action and engaged partners, which made implementation and monitoring possible. Collaborative governance took place through coordination and trust-building between the economic, tourism, health and environment sectors and local authorities. A number of key messages from the initiative could be useful to other regions and countries that would like to take on a similar public health challenge.