Restaurants and bars smoke themselves into partial ban

10.38.50am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 6th Sep 2005

Pubs and bars have resisted calls to separate smoking and non-smoking areas by only weakly complying with recommendations. The Government consultation that ended yesterday saw a failure of self-regulated separation that will now lead to a partial ban of smoking in public places. The Government's plans, however, still allow for smoking in pubs and bars that do not serve food.

Liz Lynne MEP said today,

"It is unfortunate that restaurants and bars were not able to regulate their own establishments and keep clearly separated areas for smokers. Without their complete cooperation, members of the public and staff must now be protected from harm.

"There is no doubt that second hand smoke is hazardous to our health. The Royal College of Physicians and a host of other medical institutions have condemned exposure as a health risk. It is only right that public and staff are safeguarded against unnecessary harm.

"Although the Government intends to ban smoking in most public places, bars and pubs that do not serve food will be able to operate with very limited constraints on public smoking, and will continue to be a public safety risk.