British government's health bill released to the public

• All workplaces, including restaurants and pubs selling food, will have to have a ban in place by summer 2007.
• The bill also sets out a range of measures to protect patients from MRSA infections, and a repeat of the Shipman murders.
• It also includes details of a new hygiene code for hospitals and reform of controlled drugs management.
• The bill was delayed by a day after cabinet wrangling over the workplace smoking ban details.
• All workplaces, including restaurants and cafes, will now be covered by the ban, but non-food pubs and private members clubs will be exempt.
• The deadline for a smoking ban in all workplaces will be summer 2007, bringing the original deadline for pubs and restaurants forward by 18 months.
• The government has also announced it is planning to consult on how to protect bar workers in pubs where smoking is allowed.
• One of the ideas the new consultation will look at is the concept of smoking rooms, an idea Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt was said to have pushed for in cabinet discussions.
• Launching the bill, Mrs Hewitt said: "This legislation is a huge step forward for public health and will help reduce deaths from cancer, heart disease and other smoking-related diseases.
• And the system for managing controlled drugs, such as diamorphine and temazepam, is also facing tougher regulation in the wake of the murders of patients committed by GP Harold Shipman.
• Dame Janet Smith's inquiry into the Shipman murders called for changes to the system, pointing out there had been little revision of legislation since the 1970s.
• Other parts of the bill include proposals to pave the way for reform of pharmacies, including new roles for pharmacy staff.