Health Chiefs Press For Public Smoking Ban

The British Medical Association (BMA) has sent an open letter to public health minister Tessa Jowell calling for urgent steps to curb passive smoking and expressing concern at the lack of new measures on tobacco control.

In a hard-hitting attack which describes cigarette manufacturers as "public enemy number one", BMA chairman Dr Sandy Macara said: "The evidence is now irrefutable and accepted by all but the tobacco industry that the health risks associated with passive smoking are sufficiently serious to warrant regulation and, if necessary, legislation."

The BMA letter follows a row earlier this month over a claim from tobacco giant BAT Industries that a World Health Organisation report showed passive smoking was harmless.

Health experts angrily denied the interpretation, saying the WHO study in fact proved there is a risk of cancer from breathing in other people's smoke.

The BMA said a voluntary code to halt smoking in certain public spaces would be ineffective and widely-flouted, adding that "courage is required" to bring in a nationwide ban.

A Department of Health spokesman said a wide range of measures on tobacco control were being examined but denied there had been a delay in the White Paper, which is scheduled for publication in early summer. Dr Macara also called for tough law enforcement with higher fines for shop owners selling to minors and the use of tokens in cigarette vending machines, which should be restricted to adult locations.

Help for smokers who want to quit should also be improved with new help for GPs and nursing staff to persuade patients to kick the habit and improved access to nicotine replacement treatment.

But while underlining the need for extra funding to bolster already stretched NHS resources, Dr Macara reserves his most strident criticism for the tobacco industry itself.