A smoking ban in England, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed workplaces in England, came into force on 1 July 2007 as a consequence of the Health Act 2006. Similar bans had already been introduced by the rest of the United Kingdom: in Scotland on 26 March 2006, Wales on 2 April 2007 and Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007. Plain tobacco packaging [1] and a smoking ban in cars with passengers under 18 were introduced under Children and Families Act 2014. [2]
Before the ban many businesses voluntarily introduced bans on smoking mainly as a result of public feedback. The pub chain Wetherspoons was the first major chain to introduce a complete ban on indoor smoking, doing so in May 2006. [3]
On 16 November 2004, a Public Health white paper proposed a smoking ban in almost all public places in England and Wales. Smoking restrictions would be phased in, with a ban on smoking in NHS and government buildings by 2006, in enclosed public places by 2007, and pubs, bars and restaurants (except pubs not serving food) by the end of 2008. [4]
On 26 October 2005, after external challenge and debates within the Cabinet, the UK Government announced that it would continue with its plans. All workplaces, including restaurants and pubs selling food, would have to comply by summer 2007. [5] However, there was widespread criticism from all sides of the debate on the subject, with a number of MPs threatening to try to overturn the bill. Many representatives of the pub trade told the Government that only a total ban would work, and over 90 MPs signed a motion demanding this, with over 100 signing a petition for a free vote on the issue. It was reported on 24 November that Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson nearly quit over the partial ban, but decided to stay to champion a total ban. [6] On the same day, the government released the results of the public consultation, after Cancer Research UK demanded them under the Freedom of Information Act, which revealed that nearly 9 out of 10 respondents wanted a total ban. [6]
On 11 January 2006, the government further announced that it would give MPs a free vote on an amendment to the Health Bill, submitted by the Health select committee, to instigate a comprehensive smoke-free workplace regulations. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt voted in favour of the amendment and, in so doing, voted against her own department's then publicly stated policy (i.e. the proposed partial regulations). All other parties had offered free votes on the issue which was debated on 14 February, with three options: the present compromise, a total ban, or an exemption for members' clubs only.
On 14 February 2006, the House of Commons first voted on the amendment to the original compromise plan, to extend the ban to all enclosed public places except private members' clubs. The amendment was carried with a large majority. MPs then voted on a further amendment to ban smoking in all enclosed public places including private members' clubs. Again this amendment gained significant support and was carried with a large majority. This therefore replaced the earlier successful amendment which would have allowed smoking only in private members' clubs. The legislation was passed by the House of Lords, allowing a total smoking ban in enclosed public places to come into force in England.
Political opposition did not entirely disappear at this point, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee accused the Government of overreacting to the threat posed by passive smoking and said that the smoking ban was symptomatic of MPs' failure to understand risk [7] on 7 June 2006.
The ban came into force at 06:00 BST on 1 July 2007, as announced on 30 November 2006 by former Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt, who called it "a huge step forward for public health". [5]
A legal blunder however by Stoke-on-Trent City Council meant that, while the smoking ban still applied in the city, the council were unable to issue fines to people caught flouting the law until 16 July 2007. [8] The blunder caused the city to briefly be dubbed Smoke-on-Trent. [9]
On 30 June 2010, the recently formed Coalition Government announced that it would not be reviewing the ban. [10] An attempt in October 2010 by Conservative MP David Nuttall to amend the law to exempt private members' clubs and pubs from the smoking ban was defeated in the House of Commons on its first reading. [11]
While the ban affects almost all indoor workplaces, [12] some exemptions were provided: [13]
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in theatres and television studios, actors and actresses can smoke tobacco on theatre stages or on television sets if the artistic integrity makes it appropriate. However, once the person leaves the stage or set, the item must be snubbed out. Normal smoking laws exist for all other parts of the theatre or television studio, including green rooms, rehearsal rooms and dressing rooms. [15] There have been calls for this exemption to be scrapped, for the health of other actors and audiences. [16] This exemption does not apply to Scotland, where smoking is completely banned in theatres. Comedian Mel Smith tried to defy the smoking ban by threatening to smoke a real cigar during a play about Winston Churchill during the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe, however he stopped before lighting the cigar. [17]
An exemption was also theoretically possible within the Palace of Westminster, [18] as for other Royal Palaces, although members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords agreed to observe the spirit of the ban and restrict any smoking within the grounds of Parliament to four designated outside areas. [19]
Smoking is permitted in a private residence, although not in areas used as a shared work-space. In flats with communal entrances or shared corridors, smoking is not permitted.
University halls of residence presented some dilemmas in practice as regards defining what is public and private. Several universities have imposed a blanket ban on smoking including halls of residence. [20]
As part of the implementation of the smoking ban, Transport for London announced that smoking would no longer be permitted in taxis, private hire vehicles and all London Buses premises, including all bus stop shelters. [21] London Underground had already implemented a smoking ban on all its property (including all its station platforms, whether underground or not) much earlier, on 23 November 1987, as a result of the King's Cross fire five days before, likely caused by a discarded match. [22]
The Association of Train Operating Companies and Network Rail introduced an extended ban on smoking covering all railway property including all National Rail station platforms whether enclosed or not. [23] The ban has since been extended to cover the use of electronic cigarettes. [24] Smoking on board trains was banned in 2005 when both GNER and First Caledonian Sleeper withdrew smoking accommodation from their services. [25] [26]
The Tyne and Wear Metro was the first public transport system to ban smoking in its entirety which has been enforced since the system first opened in 1980. [27]
The ban is enforced by Environmental Health Officers in England, who issue warnings and offer advice before resorting to punitive measures and have had to issue a low frequency of fines since the law came into force. However, there were some objectors who generated higher-profile legal cases, for instance Hugh Howitt, also known as Hamish Howitt, the landlord of the Happy Scots Bar in Blackpool who was the first landlord to be prosecuted for permitting smoking in a smoke-free place under his control. On 2 August 2007, Howitt appeared before Blackpool Magistrates' Court and pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of failing to stop people smoking in his pub. On 2 December 2008, Howitt effectively had his premises licence revoked, after an appeal by Blackpool Council was upheld; he was not allowed to appeal, and Howitt had to close the Delboys Bar following the decision. [28] [29]
There have been some incidents of violence perpetrated by people refusing to obey the ban, in one of which a former heavyweight boxer, James Oyebola, was shot in the head after he asked patrons at a nightclub to stop smoking [30] and later died of his injuries. [31] However, the view of enforcement authorities is that the smoke-free workplace regulations are simple to understand, popular, and as a result largely "self-policing". For a short while, bars in the UK that offered shisha (the smoking of flavoured tobacco through a pipe) were still allowed to provide their services inside the establishment, however the ban covered this area in late 2007 leading to a rapid decline in shisha bars.
A group calling themselves "Freedom To Choose" launched a campaign for a judicial review of the smoke-free workplace regulations [32] claiming a breach of the Human Rights Act 1998, as it does not respect the right to privacy of people who wish to smoke in public. [33] Supporters of the regulations put forward counter-arguments positing that the rights of smokers to indulge in their habit cease as soon as it negatively affects other people in the vicinity. [34] In 2010, pub landlord Nick Hogan was briefly jailed for an offence related to the smoking ban. [35] In 2012, it was reported that "Five years after the introduction of the smoking ban in England, almost seven out of 10 licensees want the legislation amended to allow for separate smoking rooms in pubs". [36]
A 2017 YouGov survey indicated growing support for the smoking ban, up to 83% from the 2007 figure of 78%. The ban was proving more popular among smokers where support had risen from 52% in 2009 to 64% in 2017. [37]
On 4 October 2023, at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his intention to phase out cigarette smoking in the UK by raising the minimum age to purchase cigarettes from 18 each year, every year until eventually no person can legally buy cigarettes. [38] The proposal will be put before MPs in Parliament before potentially becoming law, with Sunak promising Conservative MPs a whip-free vote on the matter. [39] A similar proposal was made by the Labour Party earlier that year. [40] [41]
Plans for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, legislation implementing such a ban, were announced in the King's Speech during the 2023 State Opening of Parliament. [42] [43] However the decision to call a summer 2024 general election meant that the legislation did not pass through Parliament. The newly elected government announced in July 2024 they would re-introduce these measures in the first session of the new parliament. [44]
The Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that prohibits smoking in all workplaces including offices, clubs, pubs, restaurants, airports, and schools.
Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor workplaces and buildings open to the public such as restaurants, bars, office buildings, schools, retail stores, hospitals, libraries, transport facilities, and government buildings, in addition to public transport vehicles such as aircraft, buses, watercraft, and trains. However, laws may also prohibit smoking in outdoor areas such as parks, beaches, pedestrian plazas, college and hospital campuses, and within a certain distance from the entrance to a building, and in some cases, private vehicles and multi-unit residences.
FOREST is a United Kingdom smokers' rights group primarily funded by the tobacco industry which campaigns against what it sees as "excessive regulation" of smoking and tobacco products.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigarette and tobacco sales.
The New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act is a comprehensive smoking ban that took effect in New Jersey on April 15, 2006. The law prohibits smoking in most workplaces as well as in indoor public areas. The Act has been amended a number of times including in 2009 to extend the ban to electronic smoking devices and in 2018 to extend the ban to public parks and beaches. A notable exception to the smoking ban is in casinos, but legislation to remove this exception is currently pending in the New Jersey Legislature. The New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act also allows municipalities to enact their own restrictions on smoking.
The loi Évin is the French alcohol and tobacco policy law passed in 1991. It takes its name from Claude Évin, then Minister of Health, who proposed it to Parliament.
A smoking room is a room which is specifically provided and furnished for smoking, generally in buildings where smoking is otherwise prohibited.
The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free. The smoking rate in New Zealand was about 8% as of 2023 when the new government planned to eliminate the nation's smoking ban to fund tax cuts.
Smoking in Japan is practiced by around 20,000,000 people, and the nation is one of the world's largest tobacco markets, though tobacco use has been declining in recent years.
Smoking bans in private vehicles are enacted to protect passengers from secondhand smoke and to increase road traffic safety, e.g. by preventing the driver from being distracted by the act of smoking. Smoking bans in private vehicles are less common than bans extended to public transport or vehicles used during work, like trucks or police cars.
Smoking in Singapore is subjected to restrictions enacted through various legislations such as the Smoking Act, which was first enacted in 1970.
SmokinginCanada is banned in indoor public spaces, public transit facilities and workplaces, by all territories and provinces, and by the federal government. As of 2010, legislation banning smoking within each of these jurisdictions is mostly consistent, despite the separate development of legislation by each jurisdiction. Notable variations between the jurisdictions include: whether, and in what circumstances ventilated smoking rooms are permitted; whether, and up to what distance away from a building is smoking banned outside of a building; and, whether smoking is banned in private vehicles occupied by children.
In Finland, the smoking figures are among the lowest in Europe. There are several factors that have influenced the decrease in the smoking prevalence, such as legislative actions, health promotion and national monitoring systems, policies aimed at reducing tobacco consumption through public awareness campaigns, advertising bans and increased taxation. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has the leading role in tobacco control in Finland, and one of their main aims is have a more effective ban on sale of tobacco products to children and young people and to prevent sale of illegal tobacco products. Among the key elements in the successful tobacco policy is the traditional collaboration between the health authorities and non-governmental organisations, and intensive health promotion.
Smoking in the United Kingdom involves the consumption of combustible cigarettes and other forms of tobacco in the United Kingdom, as well as the history of the tobacco industry, together with government regulation and medical issues.
Smoking in India is one of the oldest industries and provides employment to more than five million people directly and indirectly. India is the second-largest producer of tobacco in the world. Smoking has been known since at least 2000 BC when cannabis was smoked and is first mentioned in the Atharvaveda. Fumigation (dhupa) and fire offerings (homa) are prescribed in the Ayurveda for medical purposes and have been practiced for at least 3,000 years while smoking, dhumrapana has been practiced for at least 2,000 years. Tobacco was introduced to India in the 17th century. It later merged with existing practices of smoking.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act 2022 now repealed, was an act of the New Zealand Parliament that sought to combat smoking by limiting the number of retailers allowed to sell smoked tobacco products; banning the sale of smoked tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009; and discouraging the consumption of smoked tobacco products. The bill passed its third reading on 13 December 2022 and received royal assent on 16 December 2022. The new National-led coalition government announced in late November 2023 that they intended to repeal the legislation. The Smokefree legislation was repealed under urgency on 28 February 2024.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a parliamentary bill aimed at reducing tobacco use and promoting public health within the United Kingdom. This bill introduces a series of measures designed to phase out the sale of tobacco products for future generations, particularly targeting individuals born on or after 1 January 2009. It establishes a framework for regulating the sale, display, and advertising of tobacco and vaping products, thereby addressing the associated health risks.
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