When was the smoking ban introduced in scotland

He said it was time for the Scottish government to help the industry and relax the ban. He suggested options such as separate smoking rooms should be considered. The BMA in Scotland said the current legislation had made a huge difference to public health. Dr Charles Saunders, deputy chairman of the BMA in Scotland said: "It has played a key role in helping to change people's attitudes towards smoking and it has clearly underlined the dangers associated with smoking. The first was that although the consultation was very divided and there was a massive campaign by the tobacco industry to stop any new legislation, every single representation I got from children or young people wanted at least a ban on smoking in public places.

So by the time we reached , I was almost convinced. The only issue in my head was could we carry the public? The second thing was an encounter in a bar in Dublin in August that moved him from sceptic to enthusiast. Unbeknownst to even his own cabinet, he and an adviser headed over to Ireland a day ahead of an official visit and went on a pub crawl to chat to people about how they found the ban that had been in place there since March By the November, the Scottish Executive said they would bring in their own legislation to ban smoking in public places.

Lobbyists ramped up their opposition. MSPs were told it would lead to hundreds of pubs closing, leaving thousands out of work. There were warnings of poll-tax like protests. There were even claims it could lead to a spike in domestic abuse because smokers would be at home rather than the pub. And more smokers at home would ultimaely lead to more house fires. The pressure on MSPs was immense. For the Labour administration the plan caused some friction with colleagues in Westminster.

In England, the Labour government initially wanted to ban smoking only in those pubs serving food. Scotland, they felt, should do similar. The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services Scotland Act contains measures aimed specifically at reducing the attractiveness and availability of tobacco to under 18s. Specifically it:. The Sale of Tobacco Register of Tobacco Retailers Regulations , which came out of the Act, introduced compulsory registration for retailers selling tobacco products.

Home Policies. Smoking is the primary preventable cause of ill-health and premature death. Actions We are: banning smoking around hospital buildings in regulating the sale of electronic cigarettes or NVPs promoting a new national brand - Quit Your Way - for the stop-smoking service which was launched in using the Scottish Ministerial Working Group on Tobacco Control to help develop policy to reduce the impact of tobacco on Scotland's health managing the Register of Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Product retailers We have also: made prisons smoke-free from November introduced new rules for the purchase and supply of vapour products in banned tobacco advertising in banned smoking in enclosed public spaces in raised the age to buy tobacco from 16 to 18 in Background The World Health Organisation set out requirements for nations to help tackle the harms of tobacco in its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Register of Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Product retailers From 1 April it became illegal for retailers to sell tobacco and nicotine vapour products without being registered. The following case study looks at some of these groups and how they lobbied to get this bill introduced. In May a group of pupils from Firrhill High School in Edinburgh petitioned Parliament to take the necessary action to ban smoking in public places.

They supported their petition with evidence about the effects of passive smoking and had signatures. The Public Petitions Committee asked them to attend a committee meeting and give further evidence to support their arguments. The committee then asked the Executive to respond to the petition. The Health Committee examined the Bill at Stage 1 by calling in witnesses to give evidence. The witnesses called included:.