Select Committee on Health Written Evidence


Memorandum by Smoke Free Liverpool (WP 63)

INTRODUCING SMOKE FREE LIVERPOOL

  SmokeFree Liverpool is a partnership which comprises Central, North and South Primary Care Trusts, Liverpool City Council, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, North West TUC, Health@Work, Scarman Trust and Liverpool Health Promotion Service.

  Our aim is to restrict smoking in all enclosed workplaces in Liverpool—for the benefit of all who live and work in Liverpool. As you may know, Liverpool City Councillors voted in October by an overwhelming cross-party majority to seek the powers to restrict smoking in enclosed workplaces places, by a local Act of Parliament. This cross-party majority vote was confirmed by a further vote on the 26 January.

  Smokefree Liverpool welcomes the Health Select Committee's Inquiry into the Government's White Paper on Public Health and is pleased to submit written evidence.

Will the proposals enable the Government to achieve its public health goals?

  1.  We congratulate the Government on the White Paper's proposal for workplaces to be free of second hand tobacco smoke. Smoking is the major cause of preventable death in our city. We are also deeply concerned by the serious health and safety risk other people's smoke poses to employees and the general public, particularly but not exclusively in the hospitality trades. The White Paper offers a golden chance to provide protection to non-smokers and to achieve a sharp cut in smoking prevalence rates.

  2.  However, we believe that the Government has missed an opportunity to save lives by not imposing a complete ban in all workplaces, including pubs and private clubs. Smoke Free Liverpool does not believe that it can be acceptable for a worker in a non food pub or private members club to suffer the damaging effects of second hand tobacco smoke. We believe the evidence on the harmful effects of second hand smoke is clear and we note the comments of the Chief Medical Officer to this effect. We also note that the report of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, whose report was published alongside the White Paper, identified bar workers as the occupational group at most risk from other people's smoke. In Liverpool, people frequently do not have a choice about where they work and employees in exempted premises would therefore be exposed against their will and they will continue to suffer the same health inequalities.

  3.  Smoke Free Liverpool are concerned that the proposals in the White paper will actually contribute to widening health inequalities both locally and nationally and for Liverpool we believe that these proposals will be a disaster.

Are the proposals appropriate, effective and do they represent value for money?

  4.  The Government has failed to act on the conclusions of the report it commissioned from the Scientific Committee on Tobacco & Health (SCOTH), which was published at the same time as the White Paper, these are:

    "knowledge of the hazardous nature of second-hand smoke (SHS) has consolidated over the last five years, and this evidence strengthens earlier estimates of the size of the health risks."

    "This is a controllable and preventable form of indoor air pollution."

    "It is evident that no infant, child or adult should be exposed to SHS".

    "This update confirms that SHS represent a substantial public health hazard."

  5.  The proposal to prohibit smoking in the "bar area" of exempted pubs cannot provide adequate protection for employees or members of the public. Smoke cannot be confined to one area of a pub. Ventilation systems are expensive and at best only partly effective. We believe it would be cause significant economic damage in Liverpool if hospitality venues were required to install expensive and inefficient systems of this kind. The proposed exemptions would add unnecessarily to the regulatory burden on business. A comprehensive end to smoking in all workplaces and enclosed public places would be simpler, cheaper and more effective.

  6.  We believe that most pubs in Liverpool, which may be covered by the proposed exemptions, will be in poorer communities. These communities will have higher than average smoking prevalence rates and largely as a result will be at the wrong end of sharp health inequalities. Liverpool has the highest lung cancer rates in England. The communities where those rates are highest are those in which the vast majority of pubs do not serve prepared food. SmokeFree Liverpool is currently undertaking a piece of research in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University to provide clear evidence that this is the case.

  7.  The social and economic costs of smoking in Liverpool are unacceptably high:

    —  Smoking prevalence in Liverpool is well above the national average—at 34%.

    —  Around 1,000 people in Liverpool die each year from smoking.

    —  Around 100 people in Liverpool who have never smoked, die each year from cancer or heart disease because of exposure to second-hand smoke.

    —  Smoking costs the NHS in Liverpool about £12.7 million per annum.

    —  The economic costs to employers of smoking amongst the Liverpool workforce is approximately £28.5 million per annum.

  8.  There is strong support across the city for smokefree legislation: 71% of people in Liverpool stated that they would support or strongly support a law to make all enclosed workplaces smokefree—including restaurants and pubs.

Does the necessary public health infrastructure and mechanisms exist to ensure that the proposals will be implemented and goals achieved?

  9.  The proposals in the White Paper give no clear definition for "pubs that serve food", would be extremely difficult to enforce and leave many opportunities for loopholes to be found. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has judged the Government's proposals to be unenforceable and contrary to the principles of health and safety legislation.

  10.  The goal of reducing health inequalities cannot be achieved unless the proposals are amended to include legislation to make all workplaces smoke free including those pubs that do not serve food and all private clubs. Indeed health inequalities in cities like Liverpool can only be increased.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

  11.  While SmokeFree Liverpool welcomes the Government's proposals, we must continue to pursue a Local Act of Parliament to ensure all workers in Liverpool are protected. As our understanding is that other cities are considering the same legislative route, we urge the Government to reconsider and strengthen its proposals.

  12.  We ask the Committee to urge the Government to include a commitment to legislate to prohibit smoking in all workplaces in the United Kingdom in its first legislative programme after the General Election.

January 2005





 
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