---

Health Bill

My hon. Friend is right. Essentially, we are partly talking about a cultural shift towards smoke-free workplaces. That message will be hampered by the phased introduction of the Bill and by different rules for different establishments. The picture will be confusing and will not make a clear statement about the rights of the people who work in such environments. On phasing, there will be confusion if certain establishments have a ban first, if others follow on later and if some are not covered by the legislation. The Secretary of State said that she expects a total ban and that we will get there eventually. We heard that the chief medical officer used the phrase to the Select Committee about states around Europe and beyond falling like dominoes towards a total ban. The Secretary of State said that the people who introduced total bans often did so in stages, but in many cases they realised that it was unworkable to do it partially and got on with it. Why do we have to repeat their mistakes? The Chairman of the Select Committee, the right hon. Member for Rother Valley, put his finger on it when he said that the Government have not introduced a total ban because they are afraid. They are afraid to lead public opinion and want to follow it. We need a courageous visionary Government, who are willing to take the lead and set an example. I imagine that the full ban will come into effect and, two or three years later, no one will conceive of turning the clock back.