This week marks the first birthday of the smoking ban in the UK and is the same week that Holland’s smoking ban in public places comes into effect. In Holland, as in the UK, smoking has been banned in cafes, bars and restaurants. The usual arguments for and against a ban have been cited. Pro-smoking lobbyists have argued that the ban in an infringement of civil liberties and will cause a slump in business while those in favour of the ban cite the health benefits and claim that non-smokers will now go out more as a result of the smoke free environments available to them.
So one year on what effect has the smoking ban had in this country? Well one only has to look at newly released statistics to see. A survey that has just been published states that over 400,000 have quit smoking in the last year as a direct result of the ban. This, it has been predicted, will save as many as 40,000 lives in the next ten years. The Professor who carried out the survey, Robert West, said that he had not expected the impact of the ban to be so significant and far reaching. The figures show the largest fall in the number of smokers on record and cover all demographics from rich to poor. Half of those who smoke will die from a smoking-related illness. This fact makes these new figures hugely encouraging. The sale of cigarettes has also fallen dramatically, with a staggering 1.93 billion fewer cigarettes sold in England and 22,000 fewer sold in Scotland in the last year – Scotland banned smoking in public places before England.
The pressure group Ash has carried out its own survey and suggests that most people in the UK are in favour of even more clampdowns on smoking and favour proposals to remove all cigarette vending machines and the banning of smoking in any vehicle carrying children.
The Guardian this week reported that the predicted boom in people eating out as a consequence of the smoking ban has not occurred and that, as a consequence, the majority of planned expansions by food chains will not occur.
So although the ban may not have been a financial success for some businesses, for individuals, both smokers who have quit and for passive smokers, it has provided a massive saving. Money has been saved on the purchase of cigarettes and the NHS has not had to spend money on treating smoking related illnesses. In health terms, which is surely the only issue of real importance, the ban has been an overwhelming success for everyone except the tobacco companies.