LONDON - Jubilant health campaigners hailed parliament's

decision to ban smoking in pubs and clubs, saying many lives would be saved and that hundreds of thousands of smokers would quit. The House of Commons voted in favour of the ban by a wide margin on Tuesday February 14, after MPs were given a free vote to stave off possible defeat for the government. The bill, passed by 384 votes to 184, followed months of heated debate over the extent of a ban that had divided the Labour government. The result means that, 50 years after British scientists became the first to establish a link between smoking and lung cancer, England joins the growing list of countries to ban workplace smoking.

But while anti-smoking campaigners celebrated and pub owners pondered the implications for business, critics condemned the government for interfering and denying people choice. The anti-smoking group ASH said in a statement: "We are absolutely delighted that MPs have listened to the arguments, looked at the evidence and decided that comprehensive smoke-free legislation is a cause whose time has come." "This vote will save thousands of lives, as non-smokers are protected from other people's smoke and as smokers quit in their hundreds of thousands."

The bill now passes to the House of Lords where it is expected to pass without amendment. If so, it will become law by mid-2007.

"This is the most important advance in public health since Sir Richard Doll identified that smoking causes lung cancer 50 years ago," said Alex Markham, head of Cancer Research UK. But pro-smoking lobbying group Forest condemned the ban. "We think it is totally unnecessary and completely illiberal," it said. "Unfortunately, members of parliament got it into their heads that because Ireland had chosen an utterly draconian ban, it was inevitable it should happen over here." Ireland banned smoking in restaurants, pubs and workplaces in 2004, and six countries imposed bans on smoking of varying severity last year.

The government initially proposed a partial ban, exempting private clubs and pubs which do not serve food. But many Labour supporters said this was not tough enough, prompting open arguments between members of the cabinet. Labour unions and the British Beer and Pub Association joined forces to call for a complete ban. The BBPA said a partial ban would put non-smoking pubs at an unfair disadvantage compared with those where smoking was permitted. A survey last year showed 72 percent of Britons wanted a blanket ban on smoking, covering all workplaces, restaurants and bars. The government, fearing defeat if it insisted on its manifesto proposal of a partial ban, said it would allow a free vote, in which MPs do not have to follow party orders. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said he had voted for the total ban.

There are some 20,000 private clubs and 53,000 pubs in England and Wales, according to the BBPA, and any premises which ignore the ban will face a fine of up to 2,500 pounds. The few exemptions to the new law will include prisons, long stay care facilities and hotel bedrooms.

Reuters