Health Secretary announces date England will go smokefree.

(From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases))

] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 2006/0377 1 December 2006 Health Secretary announces date England will go smokefree

All enclosed public places and workplaces will become smokefree from 1st July 2007, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced today.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:

"This is a triumph for public health and a huge step forward for health protection. Thousands of people's lives will be saved and the health of thousands more protected. Smokefree legislation will protect everyone from the harm of secondhand smoke when working, socialising and relaxing and will provide a more supportive environment for smokers who wish to give up.

"The scientific and medical evidence is clear - secondhand smoke kills, causing a range of serious medical conditions including lung cancer, heart disease, and sudden infant death syndrome "SIDS" in children. This legislation will help to prevent the unnecessary deaths caused every year from secondhand smoke, and recognises that there is absolutely no safe level of exposure.

"Never has a health issue created such debate in Parliament, across government, through the business and the voluntary sectors, and amongst the general public. And the more it has been debated, the more people have responded and pushed the limits to ensure that enclosed public places and workplaces in England will become wholly smokefree.