Member Article

England is officially smoke free

At 6am yesterday, 1 July 2007, England became smoke free. The Health Act 2006 has now become law and virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces are now smoke free. From now on all shops, offices, factories, pubs, cafes, restaurants, membership clubs, public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person will all be smoke free.

Ailsa Rutter, Director of Fresh Smoke Free North East commented: “Today is one of the most important days for the health of our region. The smoke free law is a major milestone for everyone working to reduce the appalling burden that tobacco has caused on our communities.”

Dr Stephen Singleton, Regional Director of Public Health for the North East said: “This is the most important public health measure to be introduced in England in living memory. It will save hundreds of lives – and if smokers use this change as an incentive to quit, thousands of lives – in our region, which is blighted by high levels of premature and preventable deaths.”

According to public opinion research published on 21 June there is strong support for the legislation in the North East, with 83% of those polled believing that going smoke free would have a positive effect on health.

James Ramsbotham, Chief Executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “NECC supports the move towards a Smoke Free North East. We are proud of our healthy workplaces in vibrant businesses. We know that some businesses have traditionally appealed to smokers and feel that they may suffer – but experience from elsewhere in the world suggests that the opposite is true. Many businesses have operated a smoke free policy for many years and they have thrived.”

For more information about Fresh Smoke Free North East, visit www.freshne.com. For more information about Smokefree England, visit www.smokefreeengland.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .