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Free vote on total pub smoke ban

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Free vote on total pub smoke ban

A total ban on smoking in pubs and clubs in England will be one of three options put to MPs in a free vote, ministers have promised. The Department of Health has put up two alternatives to a total ban for the vote, which is due later this month. One is to ban smoking in all pubs but not private clubs; the other sticks to the original government policy, which is to ban it only in food-serving pubs. Health minister Caroline Flint said a new clause for the bill, containing the three options, offered a 'clear choice'. Many Labour backbenchers are angry that the Health Bill's partial ban plan would allow smoking to continue in private clubs and non-food serving pubs. In a recent report, the Commons health select committee said a total ban was the 'only effective means' of protecting public health and that a partial ban would 'widen health inequalities' and 'be disputed in the courts' (Risks 238). Health secretary Patricia Hewitt is expected to vote for a total ban in licensed premises - against her department's official policy. Poll findings released this week by anti-smoking campaign ASH showed the majority of the public in England back the House of Commons Select Committee in its call for comprehensive smoke-free legislation. Asked whether they support the Committee's proposal, 70 per cent of those polled said yes, with only 18 per cent saying they were opposed.

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