UK stops short of outright smoking ban in enclosed public places

The UK government has stopped short of banning smoking in all enclosed public places. Detailed proposals unveiled this week will still allow smoking in pubs and clubs that don't serve chilled or hot food.

The minister for public health, Caroline Flint, admitted that doctors would be “disappointed” by the failure to introduce an outright ban on smoking in enclosed public places. But she added: “Clearly there are people in the medical profession who would prefer an outright ban, but when we undertook consultation as part of the Choosing Health white paper it was clear that people felt government should act but …