Frequently asked questions:
General
But isn’t this just another attack on smokers?
The smokefree law protects your employees against secondhand smoke. If someone wants to quit smoking altogether, then that is their personal decision. As eight in ten smokers would like to quit, having a smokefree workplace will help them.
Isn’t this all going too far, what are they going to ban next? It is becoming a nanny state.
Ireland, Scotland and many parts of the USA have been smokefree for a while - it could be said that England is behind! The bad health effects of smoking have been known for over 50 years but it has taken longer to prove that secondhand smoke is also a major health risk. Secondhand smoke contains arsenic and cyanide as well as over 50 known cancer-causing chemicals.
What about all the traffic fumes we breathe in every day?
A recent study showed that particle emission from secondhand smoke is ten times higher than from modern vehicles. Secondhand smoke exposure often occurs in small, confined areas, which is not the same to being out on the roads where the gases are diluted in the open air. There are over 50 cancer-causing substances in cigarette smoke.
Will my home be required to be smokefree?
No. The Government has no intention to make private residential spaces smokefree.
Can you smoke on train platforms?
No. These are all smokefree from 1 July 2007. This bylaw will be enforced by Transport Police.
Fines are very well, but if the publican of my local persistently fails to provide a smokefree environment, shouldn’t they lose their license?
We believe the penalties described in the regulations will keep pubs smokefree, and we expect that pubs and other hospitality venues will want to comply with the legislation to make their premises a better and more healthy place to visit and work. It has worked very well in other countries.
Will this mean the death of the traditional British 'local'?
Looking at pubs as a whole, they will start to attract extra customers and may lose some of their clientele who previously used the pub as their ashtray.
It is also worth considering that in other countries where legislation has been introduced, food sales have dramatically increased.
Some pubs whose trade is drinks-led (instead of food), with no outside facilities will find it difficult to provide a comfortable, sheltered place for their smoking customers and may need to consider changing their business plan to encourage more non-smokers.
After the first year of being smokefree, New York City saw that:
- Business tax receipts in restaurants and bars went up by 8.7 per cent
- Employment in restaurants and bars increased by 10,600 jobs
- New Yorkers overwhelmingly supported the law
- Tests showed that the air quality in bars and restaurants improved dramatically
Is the Government going to ban smoking outside next?
The Government has no intention to use those powers at present. That means that smoking will still be permitted outside of buildings and in other non-enclosed places.
What support is available for people deciding to quit as a result of the smokefree legislation?
The NHS provides a wide range of excellent and easily accessible smoking cessation services including:
- Support from your local GP where Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is available on prescription
- A range of pharmacies with a Support to Stop advisor
- Walk-in centres
- Support to Stop advisors on a national helpline - 0800 169 0169.
- A website at www.givingupsmoking.co.uk with lots of information on giving up smoking.
Is secondhand smoke really that harmful?
The World Health Organisation has classified tobacco smoke as a known human carcinogen. The US Environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand smoke as a “class A” human carcinogen—along with asbestos, arsenic, benzene and radon gas.
In reviewing the evidence of the health risks from secondhand smoke, the Government’s independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke was a cause of a range of medical conditions, including:
- lung cancer
- heart disease
- asthma attacks
- childhood respiratory disease
- cot death
- reduced lung function
In 2005, research published in the British Medical Journal estimated that over 600 deaths each year in the UK are due to exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace.
Won't this fill the streets with cigarette butts?
Bristol City Council’s Clean and Green campaign is working with this issue. Outdoor ashtrays can work well – metal ones attached to the walls or just buckets of sand. Also pocket ashtrays can be obtained.
Does this legislation cover sports stadiums? I don’t want to sit (in a covered stand) next to a smoker when I have paid £800 for a season ticket!
The Football League has decided that smoking will not be permitted throughout all the confines of stadia from July 2007 onwards. They are going further than the legislation requires in order to attract more families and young people.