![]() ![]() Bloemfontein and Gqeberha had the unhealthiest weightings at positions five and six respectively. We are also using these outdoor facilities to draw people into our bigger regional parks where people can be exposed to our beautiful biodiversity and picnic areas in a safe environment.”Īccording to the latest Discovery Vitality ObeCity index, Cape Town came out tops for maintaining healthy weight, followed by Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria. “I believe that with perseverance, we will be able to change people’s mindsets concerning their health and fitness. ![]() ![]() While there had been incidents of vandalism, Van der Ross said community members, including neighbourhood watches, were volunteering to look after these facilities after seeing their benefits. Some have even been invited overseas to play sport.” “There are sprinters and middle-distance runners in our communities who are using these gym spaces to actually get themselves better. The outside gyms, scattered around the city, are suitable for most age groups, especially those who cannot afford commercial gyms. Among other partnership initiatives was an investment in 47 outdoor gyms aimed at promoting overall fitness levels and physical health. Partnership initiatives included the launch of a smoke-free Cape Town in 2020 which saw public buildings being turned into smoke-free zones to protect non-smokers and help smokers to quit. Cape Town is the only South African city that is part of the partnership, which is led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and supported by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Vital Strategies. The meeting brought local government policymakers to learn best practices and share with each other what each city is doing to stifle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, and injuries. As things are, children are not protected from tobacco exposure, and we want to see more enforcement in this area.” We also know that even at home children are still asked by parents to buy loose cigarettes for them at tuck shops. “One of the things we are considering is to have designated smoking areas that will be mostly confined to discourage group smoking and to ensure that such smoking areas are completely out of sight from schoolchildren. We know that according to the law teachers are not supposed to smoke within school premises, but the reality is that they do. “If we regulate tobacco use at schools, we will ensure that children are completely protected from any tobacco exposure … that teachers who smoke don’t do so in front of the children. The national policy says there should be no smoking at schools, but we know that teachers do find a way of smoking within school premises due to all the stresses they have to deal with. That means we can’t protect schoolchildren from harmful tobacco use should anyone smoke within school premises or the school precinct. “Currently we don’t have all the powers to enforce the national policy on smoking. As part of this process the city would be engaging various stakeholders, including the SAPS, on a possible enforcement partnership. ![]() Some of the programmes the partnership supports include tobacco control, road safety, food policy and overdose prevention.Ĭape Town could also soon have a new law that gives its law enforcement officers and the police more powers to enforce the national anti-tobacco laws to protect children, Van der Ross said. Van der Ross said the development grant will be used to accelerate anti-tobacco legislation, among other things. The latest group will join the first cohort of 15 cities launched in 2021. ![]()
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