Crusade against passive smoking

The campaign group wants new smoking laws

A campaign to restrict smoking in public places has been launched in Scotland.

The campaign group Cleaner Air Now includes politicians, business leaders and medical experts.

They say at least 30 people are dying as a result of the effects of passive smoking every year.

Smoking is already restricted in some pubs

The move comes after the Scottish Licensed Traders' Association launched a voluntary campaign introducing restrictions in areas of pubs.

That initiative won the backing of Health Minister Susan Deacon.

But the Cleaner Air Now campaign says more measures are needed to safeguard public health.

Its members want the Scottish Executive to introduce legislation restricting smoking in public places.

A spokesman for the British Medical Association in Scotland, one of the agencies behind the campaign, said there were two key factors.

'Potential health risk'

"First it's estimated that 30 Scots die every year from lung cancer attributed to passive smoking.

"Secondly, 70% of Scots don't smoke. With that in mind, we want to highlight the potential health risk that is being forced upon the people of Scotland."

But leading campaigners for smokers' rights, including the Conservative MSP Brian Monteith, have already criticised the move.

Mr Monteith said the campaign endorsed the idea of an "overbearing state".

Brian Monteith: "Nanny state"

He said: "If we go further down the road of restrictions and bans, then there's a real danger that youngsters will think it is cool and rebellious to smoke and take it up in increasing numbers.

"These plans amount to a nanny state in which people are told by the government that they can't enjoy a cigarette.

"Many non-smokers at present choose to go to the pub with friends who smoke.

"Pubs which in the past have tried to introduce no-smoking policies have found that their industry is market led, and they run into economic difficulties because non-smokers would rather sit with their friends who are having a cigarette, than on their own with their pint."

A recent survey by Action on Smoking and Health Scotland and the Health Education Board for Scotland suggested too few people in Scotland are able to choose a smoke-free environment.

The bodies said the findings "exposed the myth" that public places have effective policies aimed at protecting the public against the effects of passive smoking.