Tim Lord, chief executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, responded today to the news that EU Health Commissioner David Byrne proposes to use EU Health and Safety Law to impose a blanket ban on public smoking all across Europe.

Tim Lord said, "Everyone, smokers and non-smokers, employees and the rest of us, should have access to clean air. We all agree with that - the issue is how do you deliver it? Commissioner Byrne wants a draconian solution - to ban smoking wherever people may work - and do so via a Brussels directive to all of Europe. The Commissioner should leave health issues to individual countries as envisaged under EU protocol and let them handle their own affairs. He should also note the impact of blanket smoking bans in other countries."

The TMA pointed out that in the UK much progress has already been made. In workplaces, ONS data from July 2003 shows that 86% of workplaces have already voluntarily implemented a smoking policy - sometimes a ban, sometimes separate rooms - reflecting agreements negotiated for each location.

The hospitality industry has agreed a voluntary Charter with the Department of Health to encourage pubs and restaurants to improve facilities. This was published in the 1998 government White Paper. Since then the hospitality industry has been working hard to improve ventilation, put in non-smoking areas and even smoking bans at the bar. The result is that there are more smoking restrictions, and better ventilation, in pubs than ever before, and this sharp upward trend is continuing. Meanwhile, UK government policy remains firmly behind a voluntary approach.

Tim Lord said, "Given that the health mandate is national, Commissioner Byrne knows he can't implement a ban at the European level. So he, and the bureaucrats in Brussels, are looking for ways around this. He thinks he's found it through Health and Safety legislation with the employment commissioner. We say to him: leave it to member states.

"Finally don't forget the broader unintended consequences of such legislation - such as loss of jobs, infringement of civil liberties and the impact on small businesses. Roger Lyons of Amicus recently said that if the level of business downturn in the UK followed that of New York as a result of a ban, 300,000 jobs could be at risk.

"The key point is we all agree on the desired outcome - cleaner air for all. The issue is how to achieve it. In the UK the voluntary approach is working now. Interference from Brussels is simply unnecessary."

September 19, 2003 - A proposed EU ban on smoking in restaurants, pubs and clubs could lead to a huge hike in litter and a massive increase in fires - a campaign warned today

Charity Keep Britain Tidy reckon that unless the owners of all properties affected by the ban provide bins outside their premises for smokers to use, the UK's costly litter problem could escalate and still burning cigarette butts dumped on to the streets would start serious blazes.

"It's pretty inevitable that a ban on smoking in restaurants and public places, will mean that those who want a cigarette will simply go outside and smoke one," said Keep Britain Tidy's Chief Executive, Alan Woods. "And if there isn't a bin for them to use, at best they'll dump their dog end on the street or at worst drop their smouldering cigarette and cause a fire. Our surveys suggest that over 90% of British streets are blighted with matches, cigarette butt ends and boxes and the Fire Service tell us that a quarter of all outdoor blazes are caused by litter and refuse. Frankly, a ban without a bin will make this situation even worse."

Of the 348,200 outdoor blazes fire crews responded to in 2000, some 159,300 were caused by refuse (a 27% increase since 1992). That included incidents where matches and still burning cigarette ends were dumped in litter and abandoned cars set alight.

It is also worth remembering that two of Britain's worst disasters - the Bradford City Football fire in 1985 where 40 people died and the King's Cross underground station fire in 1987 when 31 people lost their lives - were caused by dog ends dropped by smokers.

Apart from the obvious risk to life caused by outdoor blazes, the sheer drain on Fire Service resources is also a major consideration.

"We already have a situation where smoking is banned in the workplace - but many employers don't provide bins, ending up with littered premises and running the risk of fire" continued Alan Woods. "Indeed investigators looking into this week's fire at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham say it could have been caused by a lighted cigarette.

While it's right that we all think about the health of ourselves and our children, we also need to consider the health of our environment and the risk of fire. Which is why any legislation also needs to cover providing more bins for outdoor smokers to use."