Towards Smoke-free Public Places

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The Doctors’ Manifesto, supported by more than 130 medical associations worldwide sets out evidence-based measures for tobacco control.

Tobacco FactFile is an online database designed for health professionals, educationalists, the public and the media.

Doctors and Tobacco: An action manual for medical associations and their members.

The Doctors’ Manifesto, supported by more than 130 medical associations worldwide, sets out evidence-based measures for tobacco control. To sign up to the manifesto and contribute a statement, visit the Doctors' Manifesto website.

Tobacco FactFile is an online database designed for health professionals, educationalists, the public and the media. It is the first one-stop information source about tobacco of its kind. To access the facts, bookmark Tobacco FactFile today.

Doctors and Tobacco: An action manual for medical associations and their members

Successive expert panels and government committees have emphasised the need for protection of non-smokers from second-hand smoke, including the restriction of smoking in public places.

The BMA has long supported legislation to ban smoking in public places as a necessary step in combating the dangers of second-hand smoke to non-smokers. Some progress has been made.

Yet for the majority of the population, public places are the main source of exposure to second-hand smoke. Three million people are still exposed to tobacco smoke in the course of their work. The UK is rapidly falling behind other countries in its provisions to protect non-smokers.

The report from the BMA Board of Science and Education & Tobacco Control Resource Centre summarises the scientific and medical knowledge on the nature and scale of the health effects of passive smoking:

The report presents the case for measures to protect the public from smoking in public places, discusses the impact of involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke and highlights the strong public support (86%) for smoking restrictions in the workplace, in banks and in other public places.

Government initiatives have centred on voluntary measures, on partial restrictions on smoking in public places, and on the use of ventilation.The report concludes that such initiatives are inadequate and do not protect the non-smoker from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

The report reviews the effectiveness of various policy options and highlights the urgent need for decisive action to protect the public from the adverse health effects of passive smoking in public places. It promotes a smoke-free policy, based on legislation, to protect the public health.

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Towards smoke-free public places

is available from the: BMJ Bookshop, Burton Street, London, WC1H 9JR
tel: 020 7383 6244
fax: 020 7383 6455
email: orders@bmjbookshop.com
Price: £12.95

ISBN: 0 7279 1768 4

or contact the Tobacco Control Resource Centre