Creating a smoke-free home is one of the most powerful steps families can take to protect their health—especially for children, who are very vulnerable to second-hand smoke. Health Service Executive (HSE) Health Promotion Officer & Improvement Officer, Miriam Hudson, together with Nial McGuirk from Healthy Fingal and Louise Kavanagh from Empower, ran the Smoke-Free Homes Challenge in two local primary schools in the Blakestown network in Dublin.
The Goal: The aim was simple; to encourage families to make 3, 6, or 10 promises to keep their homes and cars smoke-free over a 4-week period (02 June – 29 June 2025).
Engaging Children: A poster competition ran in Ladyswell National School, Blakestown and St Patrick’s National School, Corduff, inviting children from 1st to 6th class to illustrate what a “Smoke-Free Home” means to them. Miriam Hudson, HSE and Louise Kavanagh, Empower visited classrooms to explain the challenge and encourage participation.
Engaging Families: The Smoke Free Homes Challenge was promoted outside the schools, at a local supermarket, and even on local radio, Phoenix FM, making it a true community effort.
Results and Impact: 220 children entered the poster competition and 36 families signed up for the challenge—a 38% increase from last year! One teacher described how “It was fantastic to see families and schools working together for healthier homes”.
To read more about the work of the HSE, please see their Tobacco Free Ireland Programme and website page on protecting your family from second-hand smoke.
