Health Bill

Not only the Minister, but all those who are strongly in favour of smoking restrictions frequently cite Scandinavia as a shining example which we should follow. The Scandinavians are known to be health and safety fanatics and so on. The Minister has said that the Government intends to ban smoking in trains, for example. If they are so keen to follow in the footsteps of the Scandinavians, why do they not take a leaf out of the Finnish book? About 21 months ago I travelled across south-western Finland by various trains and ferry while making my way between Turku and Helsinki. The trains have little smoking compartments about the size of the top table, although of a different shape, which are sealed off by a heavily spring-loaded double-glazed sliding door so that smoke cannot, except for miniscule quantities, get out. People who want to have a cigarette go in. They are not very comfortable. There are no seats provided. You stand up and there are ashtrays. Nobody is disturbed. The smokers are able to smoke and the non-smokers are protected from smoke. Similarly, on ferries it is possible to smoke not only on the open-top decks but also on other decks where, sadly, you are partially enclosed; and a lot of people do so. The ferries are a grey area. We do not know how the Government will classify them. Why can we not follow the Finnish example and, for all I know, the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian examples—although I do not know how the law applies there—as regards smoking compartments on trains?