Smokefree public places and workplaces will protect everyone from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke when they are working, socialising and relaxing, and will help those that want to quit smoking by creating more supportive environments:
- More than three out of four people in England already choose not to smoke (24% of adults in England are smokers).
- Nearly three quarters of those who do smoke say that they want to give up.
The public want smokefree
An Office for National Statistics survey released 6 July 2006 (with fieldwork taking place in Oct/Nov 2005) found:
- 91% of people favoured smoking restrictions in restaurants, 86% supported restrictions at work, 65% supported restrictions in pubs
- 22% of pub goers said they would go more often if smoking restrictions were in place. Women were more likely to say this (26%) than men (17%). Only 4% of pub goers would go less often
- Support for restrictions in indoor shopping centres (87%), indoor sports and leisure centres (93%) and indoor areas at railway and bus stations (83%)
Independent opinion polls have also confirmed similar levels of public support:
- YouGov poll conducted in December 2005 which asked ‘The government has announced plans to make most public places smoke-free. Would you support a proposal to make ALL workplaces, including all pubs and all restaurants smoke-free?’ – 71% said they’d support such a proposal.
- EU Barometer survey across all 25 EU countries published in June 2006 showed 67% of people in favour of “smoking bans” in bars or pubs, 84% of “smoking bans” in restaurants, 86% in offices and other workplaces, and 85% in other indoor places.
- Guardian ICM poll in October 2004 which asked: “Would you approve or disapprove of a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places, such as pubs, restaurants and offices?” – 66% said they’d approve.
- BBC Healthy Britain poll in August 2004: 67% said they were in favour of a ban in all workplaces, including pubs and clubs.
Smoking in public places reduces the choice available to people, particularly the eight million Britons with lung disease and the five million people with asthma:
- Asthma UK reports that secondhand smoke is the second most common asthma trigger in the workplace.
- 82% of people with asthma say that other people's smoke worsens their asthma and 1 in 5 feel excluded from parts of their workplace where people smoke.
- 44% of people with severe asthma said their social life was restricted because theycould not go to pubs or restaurants due to smoky atmospheres.
The 2006 European Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study found that around 70% of hotel guests in Europe prefer a smokefree environment that exceeds the boundaries of their room. Guests who reside in the UK and Sweden were most likely demand a smokefree environment (76%) and Spanish guests least likely (57%).
