We ask for your views on the smoking ban

No smoke without fine

Wednesday, 15 February 2006

Looks like we've got a year or so left of smoky bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants, as MPs have now voted to ban smoking in public places by summer 2007. A welcome step forward or a step too far? Have your say in our newsblog!

As everyone knows, there was widespread criticism over what some considered to be a half-hearted and unenforceable ban on smoking in just those places that served food... did a packet of peanuts count as food?

MPs were yesterday given a choice of a total ban, a ban excluding members-only clubs and a ban that also excluded venues that did not serve food (follow that double negative if you can!). The vote was an overwhelming 200 vote margin for a total ban.

The ban is likely to provoke mixed feelings from both customers and venues alike... health issues and the general unpleasantness of smoky environments versus the freedom to smoke when out drinking or clubbing. There are obvious fears that this may also lead to loss of trade for some establishments as customers may opt to stay at home to smoke.

Venues that are able to provide outside smoking areas may be put at an advantage, although many cities in the UK now have street drinking bans which might mean leaving friends guarding half finished drinks inside in order to go out for a smoke... The ban covers all workplaces with the exception of those places that are deemed as 'home' to individuals (some care homes, barracks etc).

The UK joins a growing list of countries with an outright ban, including Ireland, Norway and Italy. Australia and the USA have localised city enforcements in place which vary in the level of smoking restriction. Many cities in the UK, such as Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester, had already been proposing the phasing in of smoking restrictions and bans, regardless of the outcome of this House of Commons decision.