Smoke-free England July 1, 2007

Smoking in all indoor public places like pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and also certain outdoor locations that are ‘substantially enclosed’ such as football grounds and railway platforms will be banned. A total smoking ban will come into force in England on July 1, 2007.

Nearly six out of ten people do not know when the restrictions come into force, according to trade magazine The Publican. Daniel Pearce, editor of The Publican said: “There is an urgent need for more information otherwise pubs will have to face up to unhappy customers when they discover they can no longer smoke in their local.”

Most pubs now have a non-smoking area but often you still have to pass through the smoker's area to reach the bar. The bar, itself, is sometimes within the smoking area so by the time you have ordered your drinks, you have breathed in secondhand smoke (just as dangerous as if you had smoked it yourself) and now have a smell of smoke that will be with you for the rest of the evening and needs to be washed to remove from clothes. Bar staff in pubs, that allow smoking around the bar are at a greater risk from passive smoking increasing the chances of them having a stroke, heart attack or getting cancer.

Secondhand smoke can cause very serious health problems – it does more than cause unpleasant side effects like sore eyes, headaches, throat irritation and coughing. Being exposed to secondhand smoke can increase a non-smoker’s risk of getting lung cancer by 24% and the risk of getting heart disease by 25%. There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. After just thirty minutes, breathing in secondhand smoke can make blood platelets become stickier, which means the person has a higher risk of having a heart attack or developing other heart problems. Secondhand smoke is particularly bad for the health of children and pregnant women who breathe in secondhand smoke can pass on harmful chemicals to their babies.

Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary said: “An additional 600,000 people will give up smoking as a result of this law and millions more will be protected from second-hand smoke.”

Smokers are discouraged to eat in pubs because they now have to go out to smoke.If you're caught smoking in a banned area you could be fined £50.Those in charge of the premises could face a £2,500 fine if they fail to stop you. They could also be charged on-the-spot fines of £200 if they fail to display no-smoking signs, with the penalty increasing to £1,000 if the issue goes to court.

Pubs which want to keep their smoking regulars will have to make sure that there is a place to smoke that complies with the regulations. Premises will be considered to be ‘substantially enclosed’ if they have a ceiling or roof, but there are permanent openings in the walls which are less than half of the total areas of walls. When determining the area of an opening, no account can be taken of openings in which doors, windows or other fittings that can be open or shut. This is known as the 50% rule.