Smoking ban

What is the smoking ban?

In 2006, parliament voted to ban smoking in all workplaces, on public and work transport, in pubs, clubs, membership clubs, cafes, restaurants and shopping centres in England and Wales.

The smoking ban came into force in Scotland on March 26th 2006. In Wales, it was enforced from April 2nd. In Northern Ireland, the ban came into effect on April 30th. England followed suit on July 1st 2007, with the entire UK now officially smoke-free in public places.


Background

Although smoking is known to cause lung cancer, the effect of passive smoking has proved harder to quantify. A 2002 report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer suggested that regular exposure to passive smoke increases the risk of lung cancer by 20 to 30 per cent. According to the British Medical Association, it increases the risk of heart disease by between 25 and 35 per cent and doubles the risk of a stroke.

The majority of workplaces, shops, public transport and other public environments had banned or at least restricted smoking as a matter of policy by the mid 1990s, but it remained legal to smoke in most licensed premises.

However, in the years leading up to the ban, there was an increase in support for more restrictions on smoking in public places. Although this partly reflected the decline in the numbers of smokers, it also reflected the greater assertiveness of non-smokers, many of whom were less prepared to tolerate smoking.

In November 2004, the government published the white paper on public health, detailing its intention to introduce a partial ban, which would make it illegal to smoke in enclosed public spaces in England and Wales. However, an exception would be made for licensed premises such as bars, private clubs and pubs where no food was served. There would be a complete ban on smoking in the bar area of licensed premises, to protect staff.

Legislation to this effect was introduced in October 2005, as part of the health improvement and protection bill. The ban was intended to come into force in 2007.

By this point, the Scottish Executive had already voted to introduce a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in Scotland, which came into force in 2006.

In 2003, New York City had also banned smoking in all public bars and restaurants, with only a few exceptions. Many towns and cities in California have also done this, and a few also banned smoking on their beaches and in public parks.

In March 2004, Ireland became the first European country to institute an outright ban on smoking in the workplace. Many advocates of a ban in England and Wales favoured this wording, because it emphasised the need to protect those who do not have a choice over their exposure to second-hand smoke, namely those working in smoky environments such as pubs and bars.

Italy and Norway then followed suit, introducing a total ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.


Controversies

Mainstream debate in the UK has yet to call for an outdoor ban on smoking, but calls for smoking bans in indoor public places increased to such a point that the government's plans for a partial ban on smoking were broadly welcomed in 2005.

However, many campaigners argued that the proposals did not go far enough, saying they would still leave workers in private members' clubs and pubs not serving food at risk from the dangers of second-hand smoke.

They also argued it would cause confusion, while the British Beer & Pub Association argued pubs would feel under pressure to take food off of their menus, turning them into 'drinking dens', in order to avoid the commercial damage that might be done by a ban.

These arguments were boosted in the lead up to the introduction of the health improvement and protection bill by an apparent split in the cabinet about how far the smoking ban should go. Health secretary Patricia Hewitt was apparently in favour of switching to a total ban on smoking in public places, but was forced to back down by opposition from her ministerial colleagues.

In the meantime, more and more companies and even towns were banning smoking in public places altogether. In August 2003, Pizza Hut announced that all 500 of its branches would become non-smoking and in January 2005, the JD Wetherspoons pub chain announced it would be following suit. A number of councils were also considering public smoking bans, led by Liverpool city council, which introduced a bill into the House of Commons seeking the power to enable it to do this.

Critics of a ban disputed the claim that passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, and organisations representing the tobacco industry and smokers also argued that ventilators could be used to remove smoke from bars and pubs, negating the need for a ban. However, the medical profession has claimed that ventilators do not protect the public from the risk of lung cancer.

In the lead up to the ban on smoking in the workplace in Ireland, there were also concerns that the ban would negatively impact on bars and pubs, as smoking customers would be driven away. While there has been a decline in trade since the ban was introduced, the Irish government has argued this was caused by a range of economic factors already in place before the ban came into force. Similar concerns have also been expressed about moves to introduce a ban in the UK, and a report by the Restaurant Association before the move was approved suggested it could cost restaurants £346 million and 45,000 jobs.

Opponents of a smoking ban also rejected the idea on civil liberties grounds, arguing that it was not the state's role to determine what people do to their bodies. Supporters of a ban, however, made virtually the same point, arguing that they should not be made to breathe other people's smoke.

In the end, support for a smoking ban outweighed the opposition, to the point that the government was forced to allow a free vote in parliament where MPs had the opportunity to back a complete ban on smoking in public places. In February 2006, the House of Commons voted by a majority of 200 to introduce a blanket ban on smoking in England and Wales from summer 2007. A ban on smoking in all NHS and government buildings was introduced in January that year.

In the wake of that decision, the government announced it would raise the age at which people could buy cigarettes from 16 to 18 from March 2007 in Scotland and from October 2007 in England and Wales. It will remain at 16 in Northern Ireland. To further deter smokers, the government also wants to print pictures of cancer-ravaged bodies on cigarette packets.

Statistics

In 1998, the government set a target to reduce the proportion of the adult population that smokes from 28 per cent to 24 per cent by 2010 - with a fall to 26 per cent by the year 2005

The government also aimed to reduce the proportion of pregnant women who smoke from 23 per cent to 15 per cent by 2010

The percentage of people in favour of restrictions on smoking at work rose from 81 per cent in 1996 to 86 per cent in 2002; in restaurants, from 85 per cent to 88 per cent; in pubs; from 48 per cent to 54 per cent; and in other public places (such as banks, post offices etc) from 82 per cent to 87 per cent

In 2003, 50 per cent of workplaces were completely smoke-free, and 88 per cent had some form of smoking restriction in place

An estimated 1,000 people die every year as a result of passive smoking

Children who are regularly exposed to second hand smoke face up to three times the risk of developing lung cancer as adults

Former smokers face twice the risk of developing respiratory conditions as a result of passive smoking than those who have never smoked

Statistics 1 and 2: (Source: 'Smoking Kills', tobacco white paper, December 1998); Statistic 3: (Source: Office for National Statistics, 'Smoking-related behaviour and attitudes 2002'), Statistic 4: (Source: Public health white paper 2004), Statistic 5: (BMA, 'The human cost of tobacco', November 2004), Statistic 5 and 6: (Source: British Medical Journal paper, based on research carried out at Imperial College, January 2005)


Quotes

"We commend MPs for voting for the only acceptable result for the nation's workers - a comprehensive smokefree legislation that protects everyone."

Peter Hollins, director general of the British Heart Foundation, February 2006

"It makes absolutely no sense to exempt pubs which do not serve food, because passive smoking damages your health whether you are serving pork chops or pork scratchings."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb, October 2005

"This is an enormous step forward for public health... it is going to make it easier for people who want to give up smoking to do so [and] over time it will save thousands of lives."

Health secretary Patricia Hewitt, October 2005

"Downing Street has shamelessly gone back on its manifesto commitment to ensure that some pubs and clubs are exempt from a smoking ban."

Simon Clark, director of pro-smoking group FOREST, February 2006