25 June 2007
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to cease the persecution of smokers and allow indoor smoking areas in private establishments."
Read the Government’s response
The Health Act 2006, which received Royal Assent on 19 July, provides for all enclosed public places and workplaces to be smokefree from 1 July 2007. This will make smokefree places the norm and deliver real benefits as part of the Government’s commitment to protect people from the dangers of second hand smoke, as well as reducing the number of people who smoke and cutting the number of smoking related deaths.
The Government have announced that England will be smokefree from July, ensuring that the health benefits will reach the public as soon as possible, whilst at the same time providing adequate notice for businesses and local authorities to make the necessary preparations.
Virtually all enclosed workplaces and public places, including offices, factories, restaurants, pubs, schools, public transport, working men’s clubs, private members’ clubs and shopping centres are covered by smokefree legislation, meaning the enclosed parts of these places will become completely smokefree when the legislation is implemented in July. There will definitely not be any future exemptions made for private members’ clubs; the Health Act and the Regulations made under it are comprehensive and clubs are treated in exactly the same way as other premises.
Indoor smoking rooms in public places and workplaces will also be against the law, so anyone wanting to smoke will have to go outdoors. It is important to remember that whilst a private members’ establishment is for the use of members only, it will also be a work place for those employed there. A Dundee University study showed bar workers’ lung function increased by as much as ten per cent just two months after smokefree laws were introduced in Scotland. Those showing symptoms relating to exposure to secondhand smoke fell from 80 per cent to fewer than half. Scientific evidence shows that even if indoor smoking rooms are ventilated, this does not eliminate the health risks associated with secondhand smoke.
Further information is available in ‘The Health Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Workplace’, the joint 2003 report from the Health and Safety Authority and the Office of Tobacco Control in the Republic of Ireland. This is available on the Smokefree England website (new window) (type ‘Health Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke’ into the search bar and follow the links).