Health Bill

I shall be brief, but this is the nub clause and it is as well to remember that between 25 and 30 per cent of the people of this country are legitimately smoking. This Bill is going to restrict that, and it is a sad day because the Government have chosen the route of enforcement legislation without putting in the Bill a number of things we have talked about, particularly the suggestions about fines that are relevant to this clause, and have rejected any form of self-regulation. It means that the Government certainly have to listen hard to those who own and run enclosed premises to try, within the confines of the Bill and their wishes, to make it reasonably economical for them to implement these provisions—and to do it with a degree of sensitivity, particularly regarding the issues raised by my noble friend at the Dispatch Box. If the Government do this with a heavy hand, as they have in a number of other areas, or fail to follow through as the Home Office has been doing recently, that will cause severe problems. On this debate on clause stand part, it is worth emphasising the point once again: we have to accommodate with some sensitivity the 25 to 30 per cent of the nation that still wishes to smoke.