[Intl-tobacco] England goes smokefree

[robert weissman]

1. MPs outlaw smoking in all pubs and clubs (The Independent)
2. News release from ASH UK, properly celebrating a truly great victory

MPs outlaw smoking in all pubs and clubs -
The Independent
By Colin Brown and Ben Russell
Published: 15 February 2006

Smoking will be outlawed in 124,000 pubs and clubs across England from
next summer,
after MPs voted overwhelmingly to ban lighting up in all enclosed public
places.

Tony Blair and 12 of his Cabinet colleagues were accused of a U-turn after
abandoning Labour's manifesto commitment.

In a historic free vote, MPs threw out an "unworkable" compromise on
which Tony
Blair fought the general election, namely, the commitment to allow
smoking to
continue in pubs that do not serve food.

Slapping down that compromise, the MPs voted for all pubs to be included
in the ban,
by 453 votes to 125 =AD a majority of 328.

They then decisively threw out a last-minute proposal to exempt private
members'
clubs by 384 to 184 =AD a majority of 200 =AD voting again for a complete b=
an.

The vote, warmly welcomed by health groups, brings England into line
with Northern
Ireland and Scotland. Wales will have its own vote on the issue.

Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, was accused of a U-turn after
backing a total
ban just hours after hinting that she would support the exemption of
private clubs.

Gordon Brown, Charles Clarke, Peter Hain, Ian McCartney, Margaret
Beckett and David
Miliband were among the Cabinet ministers voting for a full ban, as did
Tony Blair.

But six of their colleagues, including John Reid, John Prescott, John
Hutton, Tessa
Jowell and Ruth Kelly, backed a compromise aimed at allowing smoking to
continue in
not-for-profit clubs such as working mens' clubs and the Royal British
Legion.

The vote means an end to the "pint and fag" culture of the local pub and th=
e
smoke-filled rooms of 18,000 private members' clubs.

Ministers also announced a sharp rise in fines for failing to enforce
the ban.
Landlords who allow smoking will face a =A32,500 fine, up from =A3200 but
individuals
who flout the ban will still face a =A350 spot fine.

Spot fines of =A3200 will also be introduced for failing to display
no-smoking signs,
with the possible penalty, if the issue goes to court, increasing to
=A31,000.

The smoking room of the House of Commons could be one of the few places
to be
unaffected by the ban, because the Royal Palace of Westminster is not
directly
covered by legislation. However, some MPs were already predicting the
ban will be
extended to their favourite retreat.

Fiona Castle, the widow of the entertainer Roy Castle, lobbied for a
total smoking
ban a few hours before the MPs took part in six separate votes on the
options. She
urged them to vote against excluding private members' clubs, telling MPs
that her
late husband, a non-smoker, had died from a rare form of lung cancer
associated with
passive smoking in clubs when he was an entertainer.

Her MP, Louise Ellman, the Labour member for Liverpool Riverside, said:
" The vote
will be a lasting memorial to Roy Castle. His death made Fiona
determined to do
something about this, and the Roy Castle Cancer Foundation was set up in my
constituency as a result."

But in an impassioned debate, the Health Secretary was accused by Tories of
presiding over a "shambles" on the ban. Andrew Lansley, the shadow
Health Secretary,
mocked the Government for a succession of U-turns over the legislation.
He said: "We
now have the humiliation of the Secretary of State voting against her own
legislation. Never before has a government minister brought forward a
measure and
voted against it in this way."

The Health Bill, introduced by Ms Hewitt last year, has been dogged by
Cabinet
splits and insurrection in the Labour ranks.

Labour MPs were finally granted a free vote after a back-bench
insurrection over the
compromise plans.

Last night's vote was welcomed by unions, publicans and health campaigners.

Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: " We'r=
e
delighted that the smoke-free law will give all workers, including those
in pubs and
private members' clubs, equal protection from the life-threatening
effects of
second-hand smoke."

Peter Hollins, director general of the British Heart Foundation,
welcomed the vote
as "a landmark victory for the public health of this country, which will
save the
lives of many people across the UK".

Mark Hastings, director of communications at the British Beer and Pub
Association,
said: "We are pleased that MPs have ensured a level playing field for
all, with no
exemption for private members' clubs."

Publicans had been worried that private clubs would have gained an
advantage by
allowing smoking while pubs would have had to enforce the ban.

Not everyone welcomed the development. Simon Clark, director of smoking
support
group Forest, said last night: "A total ban is disproportionate to the
problems of
second-hand smoking. Unfortunately, MPs have been seduced by an
unprecedented
campaign of propaganda about the effects of passive smoking for which
the evidence
is inconclusive."

How prohibition laws have spread across the British Isles

Scotland

The ban: Comes into force at 6am on 26 March.

Covers: Enclosed locations that are used by the public, such as work
places, clubs
or places of entertainment, health and care services.

Exemptions: Private residential homes or designated rooms in care homes,
hospitals,
prisons, hotels, offshore installations and private vehicles.

Compliance: Smokers and publicans are concerned that the ban will
infringe their
human right to smoke, cause the closure of businesses and possibly force
people to
smoke at home, increasing the danger to children. It is hoped the new
law will
prevent more than 13,000 deaths a year from smoking related diseases.

Wales

The ban: Likely to be a strict ban in public places under plans being
prepared by
the Welsh Assembly by 2007.

Covers: Similar to Scotland with no-smoking premises defined as enclosed
locations
that are used by the public. Last year the Welsh Assembly announced that
all of its
estates would be smoke-free.

Exemptions: To be decided.

Compliance: Still to be seen, but there appears to be a good degree of
public
support for an outright ban.

Northern Ireland

The ban: Comes into effect in April next year.

Covers: All enclosed places, including pubs, restaurants and hotels.
Smoking is
already banned in government offices. A decision on prisons and psychiatric
institutions has yet to be taken.

Exceptions: To be decided.

Compliance: Yet to be seen, but a public consultation in March last year
found that
more than 91 per cent of respondents were in favour of comprehensive
smoke-free
legislation.

Ireland

The ban: Tough anti-smoking legislation was imposed in March 2004.

Covers: Smoking in pubs, restaurants and other enclosed workplaces
including trucks
and company vehicles.

Exemptions: Prisons, nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals are exempt fro=
m
legislation. However, all employers (even those who are exempt) are
still free to
enforce the legislation if they wish to.

Compliance: Controversial at the start, but smoke-free pubs and
workplaces have
quickly come to be regarded as the norm and are seen as a major success.

Paul Kelbie

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article345500.ece

--

SMOKEFREE WINS THE DAY: GREATEST PUBLIC HEALTH GAIN FOR THIRTY YEARS

Action on Smoking and Health has expressed "delight" that MPs have voted
in favour of comprehensive smokefree legislation covering all
workplaces, including pubs and clubs.



At present, more than two million people in England and Wales work in
places where smoking is allowed throughout and another ten million in
places were smoking is allowed somewhere on the premises. The vote today
will save hundreds of lives of non-smokers now exposed to other people's
smoke at work, and thousands of lives of smokers who will use the new
law as a reason to quit. The Government's own estimate is that about
700,000 smokers will quit across England - an average of 1,300 people in
each MP's constituency in England.



Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH said:



"We are absolutely delighted that MPs have listened to the arguments,
looked at the evidence and decided that comprehensive smokefree
legislation is a cause whose time has come. England will now see the
same benefits from this law as Ireland already has, and as Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland shortly will.



I want to thank MPs from the Health Select Committee, and many other
backbenchers from all Parties, who fought to win a free vote and to see
this law put through the Commons. I also want to thank the thousands of
health professionals, campaigners and ordinary people who have worked so
hard to persuade MPs. In other countries with smokefree laws, Ministers
led the campaign. In England, this campaign has been won without clear
leadership from Government, which only makes the result even more
remarkable.



This vote will save thousands of lives, as non-smokers are protected
from other people's smoke and as smokers quit in their hundreds of
thousands. MPs will rarely get the chance to cast a vote that does so
much good, at such little cost, in such a short time. This is the best
news for public health for more than thirty years.



- ENDS -



Contact:         Deborah Arnott   07976 935987 (m)

                         Ian Willmore       020 7739 5902 (w)

                                                     07887 641344 (m)