[Intl-tobacco] UK: Smoking ban in chaos after cabinet revolt

[robert weissman]

Smoking ban in chaos after cabinet revolt - The Guardian

Patrick Wintour
Tuesday October 25, 2005
The Guardian


The government's anti-smoking legislation was in chaos last night after
Patricia
Hewitt found herself the victim of a cabinet committee revolt, leaving the
government bereft of a policy two days before it is due to publish its
legislation.
Ms Hewitt, the health secretary, had proposed banning smoking in all pubs,
restaurants and workplaces, but allowing the public to smoke in sealed
rooms in
pubs, along the old model of smoking carriages on trains. She had also
proposed
extending the ban to private members clubs, even though the Labour election
manifesto had proposed that the clubs be exempted.

At the Domestic Affairs cabinet committee Ms Hewitt found herself under
attack from
many sides, with some colleagues advocating a simple and enforceable
total ban, and
the former health secretary John Reid supporting smoking in pubs that
did not serve
or prepare food.

Ms Hewitt found little support for her proposal to extend the ban to
private members
clubs, and government sources acknowledged last night this idea was now
effectively
buried. She will try to rescue her proposals today when she meets Tony
Blair, to see
whether the bill can be salvaged by tomorrow.

Mr Blair is not keen on a total ban, even though his ministers in
Northern Ireland
are introducing just that.

Number 10 insisted that the package, intended to cover the full range of
public
health proposals, could yet be rescued, but ministerial sources said the
meeting had
been such a mess that Ms Hewitt would not be able to go ahead without
seeking the
support of another cabinet committee meeting.

On this basis, the bill would have to be delayed even if the smoking
clauses would
be subjected to secondary legislation and a fresh lengthy consultation.
But others
claimed Ms Hewitt could deal with the remaining objections through bilateral
discussions

Before the election Mr Reid, now the defence secretary, advanced a
compromise
designed to give adults "an informed choice" in which they would only be
allowed to
smoke in pubs that did not serve food.

He said his proposal balanced individual freedom with the duty of the
state to
protect individuals, especially bar and restaurant staff, from the
impact of passive
smoking.

But his suggestion was widely rejected as unenforceable, including by many
businesses, during a consultation - leading Ms Hewitt to craft her own
compromise of
smoking carriages.

Ms Hewitt's critics in the cabinet committee said her proposal did not
lift any
regulatory burdens and still exposed staff to passive smoking. They
argued that
business opposition to Mr Reid's plan was not sufficient reason to
crumble, pointing
out that other proposals in the public health bill, including restricting
advertising on junk foods directed at children, would also face business
opposition.


The anti-smoking lobby Ash, which supports a total ban, was adamant that the
government's difficulties had been caused by its refusal to countenance
a complete
ban without exemptions. A spokesman from the organisation said last
night: "There is
no solution that protects the workforce and the public that will allow
smoking in
public and enclosed public spaces like restaurants. Trying to find a
half-way house
on this issue is like trying to find a half-way house between yes and
no. The
government is in danger of endangering the benefits of its public health
legislation
by its failure to act."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1599963,00.html