Health Bill

I have just said that I will make a little more progress before I take further interventions. I have no doubt at all that, even without legislation, in the fullness of time, we would eventually see a self-imposed ban on smoking spread to virtually all public places and workplaces. The reason why that is not good enough is that it would take too long. Smoking kills and so does second-hand smoke. Even if the Opposition cannot make up their mind, the Government have a duty to legislate. The public consultation that we conducted made it plain that the public agree. They want the Government to speed up the change that is already happening. They want the Government to do more to protect people from second-hand smoke.