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Up In Smoke
By the summer of 2007, smoking will be banned in "enclosed public spaces" including all pubs, clubs and restaurants in the UK.
Do the new rules appply everywhere? Residential care homes, hospitals, prisons, hotel bedrooms and private homes (why, thank you, honourable sirs) are exempt from the ban - at least for now.
As for more prominent dwellings, a spokesman at Buckingham Palace says: "We are assessing the implications of this legislation. For the moment, guests inside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are allowed to smoke. In private rooms it is for the Queen to decide."
As has been famously noted, the Beatles smoked marijuana in the toilets of Buckingham Palace before their investiture by the Queen with medals of the Order of the British Empire.
But that was a long time ago.
At the royal residence of the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh the rules are more strict: No smoking is permitted in the palace except in the mews or the courtyard.
Does the ban apply to the Houses of Parliament ?
An institution which has been immune from drinking and drunkeness laws since time immemorial?
Not far away from the chamber of the House of Commons there is a place called 'The Smoking Room'. Either this will be re-named the 'Non-Smoking Room', or 'The Smoking Room Where You Are Not Allowed To Smok'e or it may be abolished.
Again, even at the place where the current legislation has been enacted, the outlook is cloudy.
What is the situation in the rest of the European Union? Italy and Ireland have full restrictions on smoking in all public places.
According to a press officer in the chancellery in Berlin: "There is no total restriction on smoking because we are a federal republic so it is for the 'Lander' (States) to decide. But
overall, most bars and restaurants have smoking and no-smoking rooms. To my
knowledge there is no European Union Commission directive saying that a smoking ban
must apply to all member countries."
A spokesman at the ministry of health in Madrid says: "There is no total ban on smoking. There are smoking and no-smoking areas in tapas bars and restaurants."
A spokesman at the Greek embassy in London says: "There is no total restriction on smoking in Greece, except in hospitals and government offices, where there are areas provided for those who wish to smoke".
Wonder how the British ban will compare?
