Nurses want wider smoking ban

The Royal College of Nursing is calling for smoking to be banned in all public places to help prevent deaths from passive smoking.

The nurses’ union says that between 600 and 1,000 people a year die from illnesses caused by passive smoking.

A ban on smoking in pubs which serve food is not due to come into force in England until 2008 – something the RCN describes as unforgivable.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Percival said: “We have just got a new government, and one of the reasons that the Royal College of Nursing is now calling on this new government is often it is a time to rethink some of the decisions.”