MPs slate smoking shambles
THE prospect of a total ban on smoking in public places received a boost yesterday after MPs condemned a partial ban as ‘ unfair, unjust, inefficient and unworkable’.
The House of Commons Health Select Committee said Labour’s proposals, which would continue to allow smoking in private clubs and pubs that do not serve food, were ‘illogical’.
The cross- party committee agreed unanimously that the simple and most effective solution, which would command broad public support and the backing of the drinks industry, would be to ban smoking in all public areas.
They warned that current proposals – the subject of a white paper – would lead to lawsuits from people forced to continue working in smoke- filled rooms. And the influential MPs launched an attack on ministers, accusing them of putting their personal egos ahead of the interests of public health.
They said a public spat over the plans between Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt and Defence Secretary John Reid led to a botched compromise which was ‘the worst of all worlds’.
Mrs Hewitt supports a total ban but she lost out to Dr Reid, who feared a ban in working men’s clubs might erode support in Labour’s heartlands.
The committee’s report will pile pressure on the Government to grant MPs a free vote on the proposals when they come before Parliament in the New Year.
Labour backbenchers with likeminded Tories and Liberal Democrats are planning to work together for a total ban in England to match those expected in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Kevin Barron, the Labour chairman of the committee, said: ‘The issue is one of protecting political egos, not protecting public health. The current proposals fly in the face of medical opinion and will do nothing to protect those most at risk.’
Having studied a smoking ban in Ireland, the Committee concluded that smokers would happily use outdoor spaces to smoke and more people would try to quit cigarettes if there was a total ban.
The report attacks the white paper as ‘confusing’, ‘misleading’ and guilty of advancing ‘specious’ arguments.
It states: ‘ The exemption for clubs and pubs where food is not served is illogical. It means that workers who are most exposed to second-hand smoke, and therefore most at risk, will not be protected. We have sought from the Government a convincing rationale for this but have not found one. It defies logic.’
The MPs added that they doubted whether Public Health Minister Caroline Flint ‘believes in the policy’.
Mr Reid was singled out for particularly withering criticism.
The report says he told the committee ‘ that under the Government’s proposals few bar workers would die. He also argued that such a ban would lead to an increase in smoking in the home. The Government has now admitted that he was wrong.’
MPs on the committee lined up to condemn the Government’s plans, which pushed Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson to the brink of resignation.
Labour MP Doug Naysmith branded them ‘daft’.
Tory MP Anne Milton said: ‘We have a ghastly compromise that nobody wants. This is the worst possible solution. It would almost be better to do nothing. Nobody, absolutely nobody, wants the partial ban.’
Living with smokers nearly doubles the risk of suffering eyesight problems in later life, a study found. Passive smoking in the home for five years or more means you are almost twice as likely to develop one of the leading causes of blindness, says a team from Cambridge University.