THE first Smoke Free Derwentside Awards ceremony is being held at Consett Civic Centre next week.

People who have successfully quit smoking and smoke-free public places will be presented with awards on May 11.

Offices, venues, businesses and schools with smoke-free policies will each be presented with a National Clean Air Award, which was founded by the Roy Castle Foundation.

Each will also receive a certificate, gold plaque and be included in the list of venues on a new Smoke Free Derwentside website.

Dr Maggie Ireland, chairman of Smoke Free Derwentside, said: "The Clean Air Awards aim to reduce public and workplace exposure to second-hand smoke.

"We hope that the award ceremony will encourage other organisations to implement no smoking policies and to provide an environment where smokers who wish to stop smoking can be supported and encouraged."

Personal Achievement Awards, developed by Smoke Free Derwentside, will be presented to ten individuals who have successfully quit smoking for at least three months.

They will each receive a certificate, a gift voucher and a Smoke Free Derwentside money box, which can hold 500 £1 coins. A 20-a-day smoker can save about £1,500 a year by stopping.

Dr Ireland is also trying to persuade publicans that a smoking ban is workable. Four publicans will be treated to a day trip to Dublin, where a ban is in force.

She said the cost of the airfares, which is being met out of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding, was money well spent if it could win over publicans in Consett and Stanley.

The Irish Government has said the world's first full smoking ban is a success but some pub landlords remain sceptical. Smoker Paul Brown, who runs the Meridian pub in Consett with his non-smoking wife, Mary, fears a ban could put them out of business. He said his pub already had powerful air extraction equipment that got rid of much of the smoke in the air.

Anyone in Derwentside who would like advice on stopping smoking can contact the Derwentside Primary Care Trust Stop Smoking Service on (01207) 214630.

Businesses or public places interested in working towards a National Clean Air Awards can contact Mark den Hollander on (0191) 374 4109.