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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Excerpts from: Smoking ban in Scots restaurants and public places 'by end of the year'
By
EDDIE BARNES The Scotsman [04/04/04]
A far-reaching ban on smoking in public is to be introduced in Scotland by the end of the year in a bid to slash the country's appalling death rate from tobacco-related disease.
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that ministers are throwing their weight behind legislation that will most likely see smoking outlawed in restaurants and public buildings.
Supporters of a ban believe it is the only way to encourage more people to quit the habit and reduce the annual smoking-related toll of 13,000 deaths and 33,500 hospital admissions.
Despite such objections, First Minister Jack McConnell has disclosed privately that a ban is now inevitable in Scotland and will be tabled later this year, with the only question mark on how far it is extended. Friends of Deputy Health Minister Tom McCabe say he is supportive of a ban and has been lobbying other ministers for one.
The move in Scotland comes just a week after Ireland banned smoking in all public places - including pubs - and with Norway preparing to enact a similar law in June.
Supporters of a ban are also pointing to what they claim is the success of the New York smoking ban, swept into law last year.
A report last week claimed that takings in bars and restaurants had risen by 9% after the ban, as non-smokers decided to head out.
The momentum for a ban in Scotland has been speeded up by surveys which show that only 11% of bars and restaurants provided smoke-free zones.
The anti-smoking lobby said that the tactic of creating voluntary smoking-free zones had failed to deliver.
Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: "The voluntary approach has been around for three years and the figures show that seven out of 10 pubs don't have any designated smoke-free zones. That hasn't changed since smoke-free zones were introduced and they haven't made any inroads so it shows that the approach is deeply flawed."
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