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When will the law come into effect?

The new law comes into effect on 1 July 2007.

What is the aim of the new law?

The law aims to protect the general public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. Breathing other people's smoke is called passive, involuntary or secondhand smoking. The non-smoker breathes 'sidestream' smoke from the burning tip of the cigarette and 'mainstream' smoke that has been inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker. Secondhand smoke is a major source of indoor air pollution.

What does the law do?

The new law will create smoke-free workplaces in England by:

• Creating an offence of permitting others to smoke in no-smoking premises.
• Creating an offence of smoking in no- smoking premises.
• Creating an offence of failing to display adequate signage in no-smoking premises.
• Setting out the powers of enforcement officers to enter no-smoking premises.

Is secondhand smoke really that harmful?

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 can cause of a range of medical conditions, including:

• Lung Cancer
• Heart disease
• Asthma attacks
• Childhood respiratory disease
• Sudden infant death syndrome
• Reduced lung function

In 2005, research published in the British Medical Joural estimated that over 600 deaths each year in the UK are due to exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. (Jamrozik 2005)

The World Health Organisation has classified tobacco 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.

What evidence is there that secondhand smoke is a health risk?

The evidence base that secondhand smoke harms health is substantial, and has been peer reviewed extensively, both in the UK by the Government's independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, and overseas.

The World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer's report 'Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking' published in 2004 reviewed the evidence of the health risks associated with smoking and secondhand smoke.

The US Surgeon General in June 2006 examined a great deal of evidence and found that even brief secondhand smoke exposure can cause immediate harm. The report says the only way to protect non- smokers from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is to eliminate smoking indoors and that exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.

Is smoke-free legislation not an infringement on personal choice? Too much interference from the nanny state?

The vast majority of people support restrictions on smoking in workplaces and other public places - including 66% of people supporting restrictions on smoking in pubs.

7 out of 10 people choose not to smoke. The Government want to respect the choice that people make when they smoke, but they also want to take into account the needs of the significant majority who do not smoke, and who want to breathe air free from tobacco smoke. For the non-smoking majority, it is an infringement of their human rights when they are subjected to other peoples smoke, without choice, especially if they work in a smoky atmosphere such as a pub.

In countries where similar legislation has been introduced, support for legislation has grown after implementation - even amongst smokers.

Extensive research has been done nationwide to ask how people feel about these laws. We have consistently seen figures around 70 - 80% support for smoke-free laws (Big Smoke Debate 2004, YouGov Poll 2005, Office of National Statistics 2006), which is more support than was shown in either Scotland or Ireland before the 'ban' there.

A study conducted by the Office of Tobacco Control in Ireland one year after the introduction of the smoke- free laws found that support had grown from 67% (March 04) to 93% (February 05), and that 98% of people thought that workplaces were healthier since its introduction in March 04.