Smoking ban set for England
LONDON, England -- England could become the latest country to ban smoking in public places, including restaurants and most pubs and bars, under a government proposal.
The ban would be phased in gradually, starting with government offices by 2006, if it is approved by lawmakers, Health Secretary John Reid told parliament Tuesday.
"All government departments will be smoke-free," Reid said. "All enclosed public places and workplaces ... will be smoke free. All restaurants will be smoke free. All pubs and bars preparing and serving food will be smoke free."
Bars and pubs that serve no food -- about 20 percent of England's drinking establishments, Reid said -- would not be affected under the government policy White Paper.
"This is a sensible solution, I believe, which balances the protection of the majority with the personal freedom of the minority in England," he said.
Last week, Scotland's government announced it would seek to ban smoking in all enclosed public places by 2006.
Earlier this year, Ireland implemented a ban on smoking in all enclosed workplaces, including restaurants and pubs, helping to bring the issue to the forefront in Britain.
Shares in pub groups and tobacco firms tumbled even before the official announcement, Reuters reported.
Britain's biggest operator of pubs, Enterprise Inns, was hardest hit. Its shares lost 3.8 percent on fears the proposals will cost the company trade.
Shares in tobacco firms Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco fell 2 percent, while pub operators Mitchells & Butler, Punch Taverns and Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries slid over 3 percent.
The ban was expected to disappoint many anti-smoking campaigners, who have said that only a blanket ban across the whole of England can protect workers.
Leading medical experts, including chief medical officer Dr. Liam Donaldson, have long called for a total ban to protect non-smokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
The government's wide-ranging, 200-page White Paper also targeted rising obesity, sexually transmitted infections and alcohol abuse.
The government plans to work with supermarkets and food manufacturers to introduce a clear coding system for foods by 2006 so people can understand at a glance what is healthy and what should be eaten only in moderation.
"We will develop a simple code for processed food to indicate fat, sugar and salt content for shoppers," Reid said.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
