Why was the legislation introduced?
The new law will protect workers and the general public from the harmful effects of environmental tobacco smoke.
In 1998, the UK Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) issued a major report which concluded that exposure to second-hand smoke can cause lung cancer and heart disease in adult non-smokers and respiratory disease, cot death, middle ear disease and asthmatic attacks in children.
An updated review of relevant studies published by SCOTH in 2004 found that evidence of the hazardous nature of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke has consolidated over the last five years. The committee concluded that second-hand smoke is a serious public health risk.
The Welsh Assembly Government estimates that the smoke-free legislation will prevent over 400 deaths each year among non-smokers in Wales from heart disease, cancer, stroke and respiratory illness.
