GPs step up call for public smoking ban

Doctors will today step up pressure for new laws to ban smoking in public places.

Letters from more than 4,500 GPs were expected to be delivered to Tony Blair today. They call for a ban on smoking in workplaces, including pubs and restaurants.

The letters were sent to the British Medical Association last month and detail the doctors' experiences of treating patients affected by second-hand smoke.

They were being handed to Downing Street - reportedly in a giant cigarette packet - in the wake of research which found the dangers of passive smoking could be greater than previously thought.

Last week, Labour also confirmed it is considering putting a pledge to ban smoking in public places in its election manifesto. The possibility of giving local authorities powers to introduce bans at work and in public places was a theme of Labour's recent public consultation exercise.