Blair considers smoking ban in bars and the workplace

A ban on smoking in bars, clubs and the workplace is being considered by the Government, Tony Blair said yesterday.

A ban on smoking in bars, clubs and the workplace is being considered by the Government, Tony Blair said yesterday.

The Prime Minister suggested he may make a U-turn on the issue when he hinted that local authorities could be given the power to outlaw smoking in enclosed public spaces.

His remarks were welcomed by anti-smoking groups, which have accused Downing Street of blocking a ban on smoking in public places.

Yesterday, in an interview on BBC Breakfast, Mr Blair acknowledged that passive smoking harmed people's health. "We are considering it [a public smoking ban] and that's as much as it is at the moment," he said. "Until we have done the various consultations, it would be wrong to give a final view.

"What we know is there is no doubt about the damage smoking does, and for a lot of people who aren't smokers, they would prefer to be in an environment where there's not smoking taking place.

"In the end, though, you have also got to have some local decision-making in this."

Mr Blair's remarks follow a report to the Cabinet by Derek Wanless, the Government's adviser on public health, which suggested smoking in bars and clubs should be banned to avert thousands of deaths. The British Medical Association estimates that at least 1,000 people a year die from second- hand smoke.

Smoking in public spaces has been banned in Ireland and Norway. But in Britain the Government has been heavily lobbied by the hospitality industry which is concerned that a ban would lose it millions of pounds in revenue.

Downing Street is believed to have resisted calls for action over fears that it would be accused of presiding over a "nanny state" and of being anti- business. But Jean King, director of tobacco control at Cancer Research UK, said a ban was crucial to protect employees of pubs and clubs. "A ban on smoking in public places would safeguard employees and encourage more smokers to quit," she said. "Surveys have revealed overwhelming support across the UK for a ban on smoking in public places."

Deborah Arnott, director of Action on Smoking and Health, welcomed the Prime Minister's comments. "We know that ending smoking in workplaces and enclosed public places is the single simplest and most effective thing the Government could do to encourage more smokers to quit," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Nursing said: "Smoking continues to be the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK and there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke."

But the tobacco industry reacted angrily. Tim Lord, chief executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, said: "The voluntary approach is working in the UK. Self-regulation is already providing more smoke-free places and the choice that the public wants," he said. "We believe legislation is unnecessary and would replace successful, voluntarily-adopted policies with oppressive and costly bureaucracy, criminalising smokers and landlords."