Smoking set for ban in bus shelters

Smoking is set to be banned at thousands of bus stops under tough new government proposals unveiled today.

Ministers plan to define open-sided bus shelters as "enclosed public spaces", which will face a smoking ban from 2007.

The aim is to prevent non-smoking passengers inhaling other people's smoke at shelters. Football stadiums and mainline rail terminuses are also set to be included in the ban even though they are not "enclosed" in the traditional sense.

Smokers caught breaking the rules are likely to face ?50 fines, with ?200 fines for companies or organisations which fail to enforce the ban.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt published a consultation paper setting out what kinds of space she plans to include in the ban.

Her predecessor John Reid announced last year that smoking would be banned in workplaces and enclosed public spaces from 2007, and in restaurants and pubs which serve food from 2008.

An estimated 9,000 pubs which do not serve food will be exempt. The Department of Health (DoH) denied that it would bow to pressure from health campaigners by dropping the exemption.

However, today's consultation paper suggests that exemptions should be made for certain kinds of space which do not fit the definition, but where smoking should nevertheless be banned.

The views of the public, businesses and pressure groups will be taken into account before a final decision is made.

Doctors and anti-smoking campaigners hope the curbs will bring a significant fall in cigarette consumption.

Similar bans in Ireland and California have seen many smokers quit or cut back, with significant health benefits. The DoH said the measure was considered necessary because bus shelters become crowded in rush hour and when it rains, forcing non-smokers to inhale second-hand smoke. Nicotine addicts craving a fix would be able to take a few steps away and light up legally.

Some London rail stations including Liverpool Street have already banned smoking but in others, such as Victoria, cigarettes are permitted on the main concourse and platforms.

At football stadiums, the situation is similarly patchy. Some grounds permit smoking in certain areas, based on fire risk rather than health concerns.

Smoking was banned on the Underground following the 1987 King's Cross fire, and is no longer permitted on London buses or commuter trains.

Pressure group Action on Smoking and Health called for the exemption for non-food pubs to be scrapped, claiming it would have a particular impact on poorer communities which have aboveaverage rates of smoking. A spokesman said: "We expect pressure to grow for the exemptions to be dropped."

Polls show strong public support for restrictions on tobacco use. The annual death toll from smoking in England is 106,000, including an estimated 700 nonsmokers who die of passive smoking.