Next, a ban on smoking in our parks and open spaces

 

By STEVE DOUGHTY - More by this author » Last updated at 23:23pm on 1st July 2007 Comments

Smokers were getting used to huddling outside pubs - as plans were being made to further clamp down on their habit.

The smoking ban which came into force yesterday could be extended to include playgrounds and parks, it has emerged.

Government medical advisers are also demanding higher taxes on tobacco and bolder health warnings to pile the pressure on smokers to give up.

England yesterday followed Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland in imposing a ban on lighting up in enclosed public places, including pubs, restaurants, offices, factories, and taxis.

Smoking rooms in offices are forbidden and even smoking at home is outlawed if a public official is visiting.

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Kicking out time: Regulars at the Smokers Arms in Grimsby get used to the ban

 

 

The landlords of several pubs invited locals to openly defy the ban yesterday despite the threat of a court appearance and a £2,500 fine.

Council 'smoking police' can also issue £30 on-the-spot fines to smokers, though there were no reports of any having been handed out last night.

Landlord Nick Hogan hosted a protest by 100 smokers at his pub, The Swan in Bolton.

"I am not pro- smoking, I am pro-choice," he said.

"We are not sticking two fingers up at the Government, we are making a peaceful protest at a piece of legislation that is discriminatory.

"People in this country have been brought up to be tolerant. All we are asking for is a compromise and the freedom to choose."

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Tony Blows, landlord of the Dog Inn in Ewyas Harold, near Hereford, joined a smoke-in with regulars.

"I am doing it for the simple reason that this is my home," he said.

"Pubs have been smoking for goodness knows how long. This law has been brought in on the back of a pack of lies. Passive smoking is a perfect lie. There is no proof whatsoever that secondhand smoking kills."

A number of town halls are now considering efforts to extend the smoking ban to include open-air council land such as public playgrounds and parks.

It follows moves by several councils in the North East, including Middlesbrough, Cleveland, and Derwentside in County Durham, to curb smoking in the open air, even though this cannot be enforced by law.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, called for annual above-inflation hikes in tax on cigarettes.

He said increases of 5 per cent over inflation each year were 'a very good way of reducing smoking prevalence'. He also called for new picture warnings on cigarette packets illustrating diseases linked to smoking.

The minimum legal age for buying tobacco is already set to go Health Secretary Alan Johnson said eight out of ten people supported the smoking ban.

'I am thrilled that my first major announcement as Health Secretary enacts the single most important public health legislation for a generation,' he said.

'The scientific and medical evidence is clear - second-hand smoke kills. There is no safe level of exposure. This legislation means that thousands of lives will be saved and the health of everybody will be protected. 'Support for a smoke-free England is strong, with almost 80 per cent of the public backing the legislation.

'The vast majority of people who do smoke say they want to give up. Over time, this legislation will result in some 600,000 fewer smokers.'

Mr Johnson's figures have been challenged by the respected National Centre for Social Research, publisher of the annual British Social Attitudes report, which found that fewer than half the population support the extension of the smoking ban into pubs. The volume of all drinks sold by licensed premises in Scotland are down 5 per cent year-on-year following the ban there, with beer taking the biggest hit of around 36million pints.

• Ministers were last night accused of squandering more than £6million on promoting the smoking ban.

Figures showed the Government spent £5.8million on advertising, while £640,000 was lavished on a new 'No Smoking' sign - even though it is virtually identical to the old one.

Both signs depict a burning cigarette enclosed by a red circle and crossed by a red bar.

The only difference is that on the international 'No Smoking' sign the cigarette points downwards, while on the Government-commissioned design it is horizontal.

If only the government weren't making profit from selling lung cancer to us :rolleyes:

If only the government weren't making profit from selling lung cancer to us :rolleyes:

 

Don't hold your breath on that one........................ :rolleyes:

6 million dead in the UK though....job done.

They won't ban smoking outright, it gets them too much money in taxes.

They won't ban smoking outright, it gets them too much money in taxes.

 

Yep, and it kills. Cashback!

They won't ban smoking outright, it gets them too much money in taxes.

 

That won't be a problem if they keep on finding new ways to tax motorists.................... :rolleyes:

That won't be a problem if they keep on finding new ways to tax motorists.................... :rolleyes:

 

Yep...Motorists, Air Travellers, people without double glazing........that's what 'global warming' is being used for.

 

Imagine the money they can gain from adding new taxes to cars, aeroplane tickets? Plus tax money from cigarettes will not fall too much - at least not in the next few years.

 

That's a lot of war money.

Yep...Motorists, Air Travellers, people without double glazing........that's what 'global warming' is being used for.

 

Next there'll be a "breathing" tax!!:rolleyes:

That won't be a problem if they keep on finding new ways to tax motorists.................... :rolleyes:

 

:angry:

 

It's £200 a year now to tax my car :(

Good idea,there is enough poisons in the air as it is!

 

Would be hard to enforce though..