Smoking will be outlawed in all pubs, restaurants, private clubs and workplaces across Britain by the summer of next year, after MPs voted overwhelmingly to extend a complete ban to England. Only private homes, care homes, hospitals, prisons and hotel bedrooms will be exempt. The ban was approved by 384 votes to 184 and Cancer Research UK have claimed it to be the biggest step forward in public health and safety since the link between cigarettes and lung cancer was established 50 years ago. It will be of particular significance to those who work in public places, and especially pubs and clubs.
The Health Bill has now been published and in addition to the provisions for England, provides the Welsh Assembly with the right to decide for itself whether they implement a similar ban. The main provisions of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 will come into force by the end of March, with similar legislation planned for Northern Ireland in April next year.
