Guide to the smoking ban
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On the 1st of July 2007 the prohibition on smoking that has been in place in Scotland for well over a year and in Wales and Northern Ireland since April finally arrives in England.
For most businesses it won’t involve more than putting a few notices up - but there are penalties for failing to comply so it is worth checking what is required.
There are separate official guidance sites for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They all contain brief summaries of the law, frequently asked questions and officially-approved no smoking signs you can download for free.
The ban affects almost all enclosed places of work and indoor premises open to the public. Strictly speaking it will be illegal for workers to smoke - or to permit customers or other members of the public to smoke - even if they all want to.
Vehicles used for work by more than one person must also be smoke free. And they must display No Smoking signs.
There some exceptions - residential accommodation, designated rooms in hotels, submarines and - bizarrely, refueling vessels.
In Northern Ireland interpretation of the law has already been relaxed to allow actors to puff away “if the artistic integrity of the performance makes it appropriate for them to smoke”. In Scotland this concession was only achieved after a struggle.
So England will probably get the law with some of the rough edges knocked off - but there is no guarantee of this. Basically, from the 1st of July smoking at work will be forbidden across the UK - but with some local variations.
Does the law apply to sole traders? It does if you work with someone else indoors or have customers or suppliers visiting you regularly in your enclosed space. But if you work entirely on your own, particularly in your own home, you are permitted to make your own decision.
Meanwhile the BBC is reporting that Cherie Blair has been hired by an erotic nightclub to challenge the smoking ban about to come into force in England.
“Dave West, who runs the HeyJo nightclub in London, believes the ban will breach the rights of staff and his guests.”
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