The Ban Why it was introduced
The Committee on Smoking in Public Places was established in June 2004 by the Welsh Assembly Government to look at whether a ban on smoking in public places should be introduced in Wales. This followed on from the successful introduction of a ban in Ireland, and in many other countries.
The view of the Committee was that it has taken over 50 years for us to appreciate the damage done to our health from breathing in tobacco smoke in enclosed areas and something must be done to reduce that danger.
The right of people to smoke a product that can be obtained legally was recognised , but this right to smoke should be exercised responsibly. The majority of the public who do not smoke should be able to go to their place of work and other enclosed public places without risk to their health.
The Committee heard evidence about the likely impact of the ban on businesses, but there is also likely to be a major economic benefit for Wales, including:
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savings to the NHS from reductions in both passive and active smoking are estimated to be in the range of £3.5 million to £10 million
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productivity gains from reductions in sickness absence related to both passive and active smoking are estimated to be in the range £3.6 million to £5.2 million
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a loss of productivity as workers take smoking breaks, but the impact on businesses will be off-set by savings from reduced smoking related .re damage (£6.0 million) and cleaning costs (£7.6 million)
The Committee concluded that:
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there is overwhelming evidence that environmental tobacco smoke is damaging to health
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ventilation equipment is not capable of removing the majority of health damaging particulates from the atmosphere
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there is no evidence that the introduction of a ban would have an overall negative impact on the economy
Given this evidence, the view was that smoking in enclosed public spaces should be banned, and this ban will take effect from 2 April 2007.
What is meant by “wholly enclosed” and “substantially enclosed”?
This is an important issue, as the law relates to spaces that are deemed to be wholly or substantially enclosed. Businesses will therefore need to understand what this means in practice.
The law relates to an area with a ceiling or roof that - except for doors, windows and passageways - is either wholly enclosed (whether permanently or temporarily); or is enclosed apart from an opening which is less than half the area of its walls. A legal definition will be set out in the regulations. This means that providing a smoking room inside a workplace is no longer allowed.
Hotels, boarding houses, guest houses, inns and hostels will be covered by the new law. However, proprietors will be allowed to designate one or more bedrooms where the occupants can smoke if they wish to do so. Communal areas of the hotel such as the lobby/reception area and dining rooms should be smoke-free. Premises with a club premises certificate (within the meaning of section 60 of the Licensing Act 2003) are explicitly covered and cannot be exempted.
Only a few exemptions are proposed, mainly on humanitarian grounds or to cover workplaces which are also a person’s place of residence.
These include:
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designated rooms in adult residential care homes
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designated rooms in residential mental health treatment settings
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designated hotel bedrooms
Many businesses are now working to create outside smoking areas for staff and customers, and a leaflet on smoking shelters has been created by Torfaen to help them. Copies are available from our website at www.torfaen.gov.uk| or our Smoking Ban Helpline on 01633 648468.