Originally published October 21 2005
British doctors predict a smoking ban would help 200,000 quit the habit
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Fiona Adshead, the British government predicts 1.7 percent of smokers would quit if a total smoking ban were put into place.
Dr Adshead was giving evidence to the House of Commons health committee which is holding an inquiry into the Government's proposals to restrict smoking in public places.
She told MPs that evidence from other countries suggested the number of people who smoked dropped by four per cent after a ban.
In the Republic of Ireland 7,000 people have quit since the ban was brought in.
Dr Adshead told the committee: "In this country we estimate the impact will probably be about 1.7 per cent."
They say there has been a fall in the number of smokers immediately after a ban has been introduced in other countries - but it has gone up again shortly afterwards.
The Government has proposed banning smoking in the majority of workplaces, with exemptions for pubs not serving food and private members' clubs.
Dr Steve Stotesbury, chief scientist at Imperial Tobacco, said scientific evidence as a whole was not conclusive on the effects of passive smoking.
He said an outright ban was not necessary.
"We recognise that other people's smoke can be annoying and can lead to concerns of health," he said.
"We support the Government in restrictions but don't believe that necessitates an outright ban."
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