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Smoke-free Legislation

The Health Act 2006 makes provision for smoke-free premises and vehicles. The smoke-free provisions within the Act, which will make virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces smoke-free, will be implemented at 6am on Sunday, 1 July 2007. The scientific and medical evidence is clear—second-hand smoke kills, causing a range of serious medical conditions including lung cancer, heart disease, and sudden infant death syndrome in children. Smoke-free legislation is an enormous step forward for protecting public health, and will help to prevent the many unnecessary deaths caused every year from second-hand smoke. Smoke-free legislation in other countries has proved highly effective in protecting the health of workers, and will help to create more supportive environments for smokers to quit. The Government are currently finalising the smoke-free regulations to be made under powers in the Health Act 2006, and they are expected to be laid before Parliament shortly.