At 6am on a quiet Sunday morning 20 years ago today, Scotland became the first UK nation to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces. It was a landmark moment in public health policy, and new research shows just how much has changed since.
Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke has fallen by 96% in Scotland since the legislation came into force on March 26 2006. But our new study, published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases, reveals that nearly one in four people are still being exposed to tobacco smoke in settings the law does not fully cover. This raises the question of what it will take to finish what the ban started.
The Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 made it illegal to smoke inside bars, restaurants, public transport and almost all workplaces. While there had been much lobbying for exemptions for bars on the basis of size, existing ventilation, or whether or not they also sold food, the law, when it was finally introduced, was comprehensive and simple.
