City petitions parliament for smoking ban

November 24, 2004 - PRESS RELEASE

Liverpool will be the first authority in the UK to petition Parliament to outlaw smoking in every work place in the city.

This Friday (26 November), the city council will lodge a private Bill to pass a smoke-free law for Liverpool.

The Bill will ban smoking in restaurants, pubs, shops, offices and all other workplaces to protect employees from being exposed to cigarette smoke. The legislation is being put forward on health and safety grounds and is similar to laws already in force in Ireland and New York.

And a top team from the city council and Smokefree Liverpool will take to the smoke free air tomorrow (Thursday) when they board the City of Liverpool plane to deliver the Bill to the Palace of Westminster.

Liverpool City Council is concerned that the proposals announced last week by Health Secretary John Reid, to tackle the dangers of smoking and passive smoking, were a welcome step forward, but do not go far enough.

Leader of Liverpool City Council, Mike Storey, said: "Last week the Government released plans to control smoking, and although we welcome their smoking restrictions, they do not go far enough.

"We need to protect all employees who are exposed to smoking in their workplace, and a partial ban just wouldn't work.

"In Liverpool, over 100 people die each year from cancer caused by passive smoking. We take this issue extremely seriously. As a city council we have a duty to protect employees and customers, and this bill will do exactly that.

"We have received overwhelming support from smokers and non-smokers in the city, and I'm sure that now we've taken the initiative, other cities will follow our lead."

The legislation is being supported by Smokefree Liverpool, a partnership which includes health groups, the city council, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, the North West TUC and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Andy Hull, chair of Smokefree Liverpool and the city council's Environmental Health Manager, said: "Friday is a major step forward in Liverpool's bid to become a smoke-free, healthy city.

"The city council and Smokefree Liverpool feel strongly that this bill is the right one for Liverpool. Research has proven that working alongside smokers increases the risk of lung cancer by up to 30 per cent. It has to be banned from every workplace."

Under the Liverpool City Council (Prohibition of Smoking in Places of Work) Bill any individual or business in breach the new law will face fines of up to £5,000.

The Bill is being lodged this week in time for the new legislative session. It will be presented to the House of Lords and depending on the number of parliamentary hurdles it has to overcome, city council bosses are hoping the Bill will become law in 18 months time.

Sponsor of the Bill, Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: "This is a groundbreaking move. It is paving the way to taking strong action to protect people at work from the effects of second hand smoke.

"There has been a major transformation in public understanding of the need for action and it's wonderful that a local authority on an all-party basis is now paving the way."