Quitting the habit
13 April 2012
- Two-thirds of Londoners back restrictions on smoking in restaurants, according to a poll of 35,000 people. Some 74 per cent were in favour of a ban in offices and 68 per cent in shopping centres.
- In London, around one million non-smoking workers are exposed to tobacco smoke at work.
- Smoking is already banned at Brent Cross shopping centre and in restaurants including Rules, Covent Garden, Villandry in Marylebone and Zuma, Knightsbridge.
- Next month, smoking will be banned at all seven Gordon Ramsay restaurants, but it will be permitted in private dining rooms.
- Bans on smoking in public places are being considered by Liverpool, Cambridge, Sheffield, Birmingham, Brighton and Poole. In Liverpool, 1,000 people die every year of smoking-related illnesses - 100 of these are non-smokers.
- In New York, which introduced a ban last year, bars and restaurants have seen their incomes rise by 12 per cent and the creation of 10,000 more jobs. Smoking is also banned in San Francisco.
- Smoking was banned in pubs in Ireland in March. A similar ban has since been introduced in Norway.
- Smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer.
