England is now the largest nation in the world by population to have a complete indoor smoking ban. Some people aren't too happy about it, though. The Reverend Anthony Carr walked into a police station and lit up his pipe. "I said to the officer 'I want to report a crime'..." Video [Previously] via rhodri
posted by chuckdarwin on Jul 5, 2007 - 284 comments

Ce n'est pas une cigarette France is the latest to ban smoking in public, joining Spain, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Ukraine, and the U.S. among others. This short article from The Atlantic shows the long history of countries attempting to ban smoking, from Pope Urban VIII to Hitler. Somehow I think these bans are here to stay.
posted by papoon on Feb 3, 2007 - 49 comments

Jewsfilter: Rabbinic Council of America bans smoking for all Orthodox Jews "Jewish law is fully able to incorporate new realities, recognize new and reliable scientific findings, and embrace the need to change heretofore acceptable behavior." Read the full technical legal opinion here. [pdf] Now if only the Orthodox Union would stand up for the LBGT community in same the way that it has for Darfur, stem cell research, heck, even global warming...
posted by ericbop on Jul 7, 2006 - 44 comments

Labour Party charlies cock-up smoking ban plans. Despite years of very public debate on what seems like a fairly straightforward subject, it now looks like the UK government will be forced to rethink its plans to introduce a smoking ban in public places across England and Wales. Research in places where bans are in place all support the claims for health benefits, and the Scottish Parliament is taking the lead in the UK by introducing a total ban next year, so why can't the Labour Party make up its mind? If you're tired of waiting for the government to take action, this site lists smoke-free restaurants and hotels around the world.
posted by londonmark on Oct 26, 2005 - 121 comments

Smoking banned from the Irish workplace (including pubs) from March 29th
Looks like all of us smokers will have to comply. Personally, I can't wait for the ban to come in as it will be further incentive for me to fight the addicition. Hopefully the ban on smoking at my office will mean it'll be easier to stop. All that said, I wonder how it's going to be enforced? The way I see it, the only way it could be properly enforced is through the public being prepaired to report transgressions to those charged with enforcing the law. Maybe the fear of that will make sure that business owners see to it that their workplaces are smoke free.
posted by tomcosgrave on Feb 18, 2004 - 21 comments

1,200 people in the UK die each year due to passive smoking at work.
Following on from New York's tough stance on smokers, the UK is considering banning smoking in all restaurants in order to cut the number of deaths by passive smoking.
posted by Mwongozi on Apr 11, 2003 - 52 comments