As of July 1st 2007 smoking in enclosed public places will be banned in England. This law, which was finally approved in July 2006 after months of debate, discussion and opposition, has been welcomed by non-smokers, health campaigners and even by a huge number of smokers.

The main objective of the no smoking law is to protect the health of all people, smokers as well as non-smokers, in public places, particularly from the negative effects and potential illnesses that have been linked to passive smoking, and especially in the workplace, where in some cases, employees are subjected to breathing in secondhand smoke often for many hours every day.

England will be the last country of the UK to enforce a no smoking ban in enclosed public places and in the workplace. Scotland has been smoke-free in public places and work environments since March 26, 2006, followed by Wales, almost a year later from April 2, 2007 and Northern Ireland from April 30, 2007.

Many indoor public places such as cinemas, public transport and shopping centres already have their own non-smoking policy in place and we are accustomed to not lighting up inside these locations. However, the new no smoking law will extend the ban to all public "enclosed" and "substantially enclosed" locations, making it illegal and a criminal offence to smoke in these enclosed areas. If caught smoking the offender may be fined £50, whilst the premises could be fined £2500 for allowing smoking to take place in his establishment.

An "enclosed" area has been defined as a premises with a ceiling and roof, which is completely enclosed excluding windows, doors and passageways. This applies to premises that are permanent or temporary structures such as marquees or huge tents.

A "substantially enclosed" establishment has a roof or ceiling but will have gaps in the walls and it will not be fully enclosed.

Basically, smoking will be banned and illegal in all public indoor places and workplaces. This can be from any office, factory, shop and restaurant to theatres, bars, clubs, shopping centres and work vehicles that transport more than one person at a time.

It is probably easier to explain where you are allowed to smoke: outside, in your own home or private car, smoking rooms in hotels and in residential care homes or prisons.

All smokers who work inside any kind of building will have to leave the building and smoke outside if they want to go and have a cigarette, as designated smoking rooms or indoor smoking areas will no longer be allowed.

The biggest impact will be felt in leisure areas where smoking is a major part of the atmosphere and culture, as in bars, clubs and restaurants. For non-smokers, they will now be able to frequent these locations without having to worry about returning home with smelly hair and clothes and more importantly their health will not be affected from breathing in secondhand smoke.

Establishments, who may worry that their business will suffer as a result of the no-smoking ban, could find that the situation will balance itself out, as more non-smokers will choose to go out because of the no smoking law.

The main thing that businesses need to worry about is that they must ensure that no one breaks the law by smoking in their establishment, as they could end up with a heftier fine than the actual person caught smoking.

A telephone line will be set up and operable from July 1st for members of the public to report any establishments who are not complying with the new law. It will be the responsibility of each local council to investigate each complaint and to enforce the no smoking law in their area.

It is also up to each business to make sure that they have the correct no smoking signs in clear view on their premises, as failure to do so will also result in an unnecessary fine.

The fines for breaking the no-smoking law are as follows:

£50 (GBP) (reduced to £30 if paid within 15 days) for being caught smoking in a smokefree establishment or vehicle, which could increase to £200 if sent to court and convicted.
£2500 (GBP) for allowing smoking to take place in an "enclosed" or "substantially enclosed" public environment if convicted in a court. This fine will be imposed on the manager or person in charge of the establishment.
£200 (GBP) (reduced to £150 if paid within 15 days) to establishments and public vehicles that fail to display any no smoking-signs. The signs should be of the correct size and should be easily seen at the front entrance of the premises. This penalty could be as much as £1000 if convicted in court.

A growing number of countries in Europe and in other areas of the world are beginning to do something about the mounting support and demand for no smoking in public. More and more people are becoming aware of the health risks of passive smoking and feel that it is their government's responsibility to enforce some kind of law to protect them. A lot people support the ban yet there is also considerable opposition. However, as an increasing number of countries are gradually responding to the demand and imposing a smoking ban, it was only a matter of time before the England and the rest of the UK followed.