Nicholas Craig column

Dec 3 2004 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

I instinctively rail against blanket bans. However, in the last few months, I seem to have been submerged in an outpouring of bans, guidelines and instructions on how we should conduct our lives.

The latest liberty to go up in smoke is cigarette smoking in public places. Four years from now it could be banned in every workplace, restaurant and most pubs in England.

With no smoking, England would be a healthier, pleasanter place to live. However, the question is whether such a ban is the right way to go about it. To many people the move smacks of the nanny state; to others, it does not go far enough.

The English smoking ban probably has a better chance of working than the proposed Scottish blanket ban on all pubs and restaurants.

A total ban in restaurants makes sense, but pubs are different. The watchword of any effective reform must be choice and customers and pub owners should have the right to choose whether to drink in or own a smoky or smoke-free pub.

It is workplaces that are going to feel it most. No more smoking rooms or smoking areas. From 2007, smokers will have to light up outside, whatever the weather.

At the moment, about half of workplaces in England are not smoke free. There's a long way to go.

The health benefits of the proposed smoking ban are undoubted. New Scientist reported a six-month ban on smoking in all public places almost halved the number of heart attacks in a US town.

Researchers attribute the dramatic drop to the near elimination of harmful effects of passive smoking.

In England, 49pc of finance directors think a smoking ban would benefit UK plc because of days lost through sickness and early mortality. However, £1.8bn of tax revenue could be lost if smoking was banned in public places.

The British Medical Association believes the ban would save the NHS only £250m by treating fewer smoke-related illnesses.

The fact remains that if the State had not legislated for other public health and safety measures, then issues such as drink-driving or the compulsory wearing of seat belts in cars would not have become important.

I doubt whether, without legislation, we would accept, voluntarily, the change in behaviour necessary to improve public health.