Health Bill

My Lords, it will be a free vote as far as my party is concerned. I have reached my conclusion with due respect to my noble friends Lord Naseby and Lord Geddes and other noble Lords who spoke in the same vein, as well as to the 100 or more men and women from Whitefield in Manchester whose petition on the subject reached me today. Perhaps I could also express a personal view. A few years ago, any discussion about second-hand smoke revolved mainly around arguments about its nuisance value. That has changed. The medical evidence set out by the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health is unequivocal. Second-hand smoke kills people. It kills a lot of people. It is not simply the increased risk of lung cancer.