Reid extinguishes pub smoking ban hopes
Health Secretary John Reid has denied that the Government is planning an outright ban on smoking in public places, such as pubs and bars.
Following an extensive public consultation, Public Health Minister Melanie Johnson suggested last night that there was considerable public support for wider restrictions on smoking in public.
Speaking on “Newsnight” on Thursday evening, Ms Johnson stated, ” We will certainly be looking at the ways in which we address smoking in public places and taking some form of action as a result of the white paper.”
However, the former chain-smoking Health Secretary has backed away from this position.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four’s “Today” programme this morning, Dr Reid argued, “People seem overwhelmingly, in every submission an opinion poll, to want restrictions on smoking.
“What is not true is that the overwhelming bulk of people – as is sometimes said by some of the lobby groups – want a complete ban in pubs.”
The last time the prospect of a ban on smoking in pubs was mooted earlier in the year, Dr Reid courted controversy by suggesting that smoking was one of the few pleasures of the working class.
On Friday morning, the Health Secretary insisted that it was not the Government’s place to “dictate” to smokers, but rather to help the public make “informed choices”.
Nevertheless, Dr Reid expressed sympathy for the idea of increasing the age at which young people can buy cigarettes from 16 to 18.
