Wales looks towards public smoking ban

Wales looks towards public smoking ban

Wales took the first legislative step last week to ban smoking in public buildings, including pubs and restaurants.

The Welsh National Assembly voted by 39 to 10 to start the process that could ultimately prohibit all tobacco smoking in public buildings designated by the Assembly. A draft bill will now be submitted to Westminster for Parliament to turn it into Welsh law.

Alun Pugh, the Labour member proposing the all-party motion, called for a two-stage ban: shops, cafés, restaurants and public transport in the first stage; and places where children are not permitted, such as pubs and nightclubs, in the second. Private clubs would be excluded.

But the debate about whether any legislation should be more flexible than an outright ban was apparent in the Assembly.

Conservative David Jones, a solicitor, said the draft bill's reference to premises being "designated" meant that some premises could be "designated" for continued smoking. "Provided pubs and restaurants advertise whether or not they permit smoking, people would have the choice whether or not to use them," he said. A spokesman for the British Hospitality Association commented: "This would seem to be fair as long as the designations are voluntary."

If it became law, the Welsh bill would be more stringent than the voluntary arrangements now in place in the rest of the country. The best-known voluntary code is the Public Places Charter, Government-backed but industry-led, which was launched in September 1999. Its declared aim is to improve choice, to inform customers of whether they will be able to smoke, and to give information on how well ventilated venues are.

Nevertheless, there has been increasing pressure for a complete ban on smoking in public places, not least from the British Medical Association, which last year concluded that passive smoking causes 1,000 deaths a year in the UK.

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