Health Bill

The amendment makes it very tempting to reopen the whole Second Reading debate, but if we do that we shall be here for several hours yet and probably several more days as well. I will not indulge myself and go through the whole issue of smoking and health, and individual freedom. The noble Lord, Lord Palmer, said that it is a vile and filthy habit. He and so many others believe that but not everyone does. Many people who smoke find great comfort from smoking. There are others who wish that they had not started and wish to give up. Nevertheless, it is wrong to say that it is a vile and filthy habit for everyone. It may very well seem that way to people who have to inhale other people’s smoke; that is perfectly well understood, even though I believe that the medical evidence that it causes harm to other people is very flimsy indeed. I see the noble Lord, Lord McColl, looking at me sternly. We have disagreed over that issue for a very long time, and I have no doubt that we will continue to do so. The whole point, without going through it again, that we have been trying to make in Committee is that this is taking a very large sledgehammer to crack what is really a very small nut. The issue of second-hand smoke can be dealt with to everyone’s satisfaction if we have separation. I do not really see what is unreasonable about that. What is unreasonable about saying to smokers, ““If you wish to smoke there is the smoking room and you may not smoke anywhere else.””? That would be understood and accepted. To say to people that they may not smoke if they go into a public house or a restaurant is really interference with individual freedom.