Health Bill

I stand second to none in the Chamber in my admiration for the upright stance and integrity of my near-neighbour in Lichfield. I look forward to having a chat with him in the Lobby. On health and safety grounds, there should be no exemption for any pub or membership club. It is wholly unacceptable to exempt any category of worker—I say that with great respect for my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, North (Bill Etherington)—from an identified, controllable and significant risk. Good gracious me, the bulk of Labour Members were trade unionists in another life. Exempted pubs and clubs will be in less well-off areas, where smoking prevalence rates are higher, and general health and life expectancy are worse than elsewhere. We have heard that that is shown at its starkest in Liverpool, with its sad and unique position as the lung cancer capital of England, and with average smoking prevalence in the most deprived areas at around 50 per cent. No wonder the call for change is even stronger on Merseyside than elsewhere. I commend the Smoke Free Liverpool campaign; I wear its wristband proudly as a token of my support—the first such wristband I have ever worn. While the partial ban proposed in the Bill will protect many workers and members of the public, it will leave some of those at most risk still exposed to the health risks of second-hand smoke. In summary, it will also reduce the number of smokers quitting as a result of the legislation, worsen health inequalities and produce perverse and unfair competition between licensed premises. Smoke-free legislation is essentially a yes/no question, ideally suited to a Chamber with just two Lobbies. Once the health and safety case and the public health benefits are conceded, it is not possible to find a compromise, whether exemptions for some premises, ventilation systems or separate smoking areas are incorporated. All of that is lunacy. It is impossible to find a compromise that is practical, logical and enforceable. There is still time for the Government to ensure that workplaces and enclosed public places in England will have the same protection from second-hand smoke as will soon be available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and which already exists in the very enlightened Irish Republic. The benefits and popularity of such a measure would be enormous. My parliamentary neighbour, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt), has said that a comprehensive workplace smoking ban will be in place by 2007. I hope that she is right, and that second thoughts and sound advice will prevent my Government from snatching a wholly unnecessary defeat from the jaws of a much-needed historic victory. For then, 400 years after the first tobacco ban was promulgated by an absolute monarch, an absolute ban in enclosed public and work places will at long last be a reality. If that is not a reason for public rejoicing, celebrations and, yes, bonfires, then I do not know what is.