PUBS, clubs and restaurants full of cigarette smoke could be a thing of the past by 2006, says Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman.
And his campaign to protect staff from passive smoking has just been backed by a heavyweight Government report.
The Government's Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has just published findings that backed an end to workplace smoking.
He studied the effects of smoke-free legislation in countries like Ireland and America - and concluded that the move was good for the economy, as well as everybody's health.
Sir Liam estimated that creating smoke-free workplaces could benefit the UK economy by up to £2.7bn a year. Since imposing a work place ban, New York has seen an 18% rise in sales in eating, drinking and hotel establishments.
Mr Sheerman said: "It's not acceptable in the modern age that people have to go to work and be subject to passive smoking."
He added: "I don't know anyone who doesn't say protection of workers' health is the prime thing in this."
Banning smoking in crowded venues, he said, would be one of the best ways of improving the nation's health.
But Mr Sheerman has a lot of sympathy for smokers, saying: "If you are a smoker you are an addict. You need support and need help and do not need to be lectured at."
Mr Sheerman courted controversy when he said youngsters subject to adults' smoke were victims of child abuse, saying: When I see children in a smoke-filled car it upsets me. It is a form of child abuse."
