Regulations on asbestos and fire safety are not left to individual businesses to decide on, so why should this key public health issue be?
Secondhand smoke is now the only human carcinogen that remains unregulated in the workplace. The Public Places Charter, a voluntary agreement between the hospitality industry and the Department of Health, was introduced in March 2000. Since then, the proportion of smoke free premises has increased from 1% to 2%. This evidence suggests that leaving it up to the venue owners is not strong enough to ensure that real changes are made.
