Triumphant end to a long, hard road

It's been a long road, but at last MPs have come down in favour of a complete ban on smoking in all enclosed public places in England, without any exemptions.

First and most important, this is a victory for more than 100,000 hospitality workers, who every day have to endure working in smoky environments and breathe in other people's smoke. It's also a success for hospitality businesses up and down the country, because they will now be able to operate and compete on a level playing field when the new legislation comes into force.

Finally, it's a huge triumph for Caterer‘s campaign to Stub out Smoking and a vindication of the tough stance we took in September 2004. Caterer proudly jumped off the fence to safeguard the health of hospitality workers and to ensure the whole UK industry operated on a level playing field. The vote last week in the House of Commons achieved both objectives.

During our campaign the editorial team galvanised industry opinion, lobbied Government, and researched attitudes of hospitality businesses and their workers. In the past 17 months, we've published well over 50 articles on the debate, conducted surveys and participated in the Government's consultation process. Caterer has helped shape opinion and lead debate on this issue, and we're proud to have played our part.

The final detail of legislation has yet to be the ironed out and it's incredibly important that all four corners of the UK now adopt harmonised rules, which allow hospitality businesses to implement universal policies.

But the most important success is for hospitality workers who will in the future be able to breathe easier at night having finished a shift in a smoke-free restaurant, bar or pub.

And anyone who doubts whether workers care about working in a smoke-filled environment should click here for our Stub out Smoking round-up.