Why is there a need to restrict smoking in public places?
Exposure to second-hand smoke is a cause of: • lung cancer; • heart disease and respiratory disease in adult non-smokers; • respiratory disease; • cot death; • middle ear disease; and • asthmatic attacks in children. The 2004/5 Welsh Health Survey found that 70 per cent of adult non-smokers reported being regularly exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke. It is estimated that introduction of a ban on smoking in public places and workplaces will prevent more than 400 premature deaths in Wales each year from lung cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke and respiratory disease.
