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Smoke out

The public ban was not prohibitive enough - the government must continue to legislate toward the complete abolition of smoking

It has been almost six months since smoking was banned in enclosed public places throughout England and already critics have been keen to present evidence that the ban has been a failure.

And perhaps they have a point. If the primary objective of the ban was to encourage the 70% or so of the "silent majority" of smokers who apparently want to stop smoking to do so then the results have certainly been disappointing. Most of the figures available suggest only around 2% of smokers have quit outright since the imposition of the ban.

On the other hand, as supporters of the ban are quick to point out, the number of smokers to reduce their smoking since the ban - around 50% - has been far more encouraging. They might also point out that the primary objective of the ban was not actually to stop people smoking but to reduce the amount of second hand smoke consumed by non-smokers. In this respect, the smoking ban has undeniably proven something of a triumph: for the first time in living memory, it is possible to visit any pub, bar, club or workplace throughout the land without being immediately consumed by a fug of second hand smoke.

Yet, in reality, neither of these arguments is entirely correct. The simple truth is that the conditions of the smoking ban are not too prohibitive, but that they are nowhere near prohibitive enough. Instead of producing the dream of a land free of the scourge of secondhand smoke, it's now virtually impossible to enter many pubs and clubs without first pushing your way through an unhealthy congregation of smokers converging around the doorway.

More pointedly, the ban has exposed a wealth of contradiction in public attitude. To pick just one example, while nobody seriously questions that anyone using a mobile phone while at the wheel at the car should face the stiffest penalties, people are less concerned about smoking behind the wheel.

And what about children? If the government is sincere about protecting those most vulnerable from second hand smoke, then why isn't a ban on smoking in all households containing children, at least being considered?

Ultimately, the ban enacted on July 1 should not be the end of the legislative process but the beginning. The months and years to come should witness a wealth of legislation enacted by the government leading towards one ultimate goal: the abolition of smoking, whether public or private, throughout the land, forever.

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