It is against the law to smoke in the indoor parts of places such as pubs, nightclubs, sport centres, community rooms, cafes and restaurants, lunch rooms, membership clubs and shopping centres and all other enclosed public places.
For more information visit the government’s official smoke free website Smokefree England. The website provides guidance on how to achieve smoke free premises and vehicles and information and help for smokers wishing to quit.
If you would like support and advice on stopping smoking, call the NHS smoking helpline on 0800 169 0 169 or visit their website.
Is there help for staff to stop smoking?
NHS support to quit smoking can be more than four times as successful than going it alone.NHS Leeds Community Healthcare offers a wide range of excellent, free and easily accessible support for smokers, including free classes and clinics all across Leeds and easy routes to treatments on prescription. NHS Leeds Community Healthcare can also deliver free onsite classes to your employees.
Telephone number: 0800 169 4219
Textphone number: 07811 542 548
Email stopsmokingleeds@nhs.net
http://www.leedscommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk/what_we_do/specialist_services1/stop_smoking_service1/
Smokers can also contact the national NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0169. QUIT is an independent charity whose aim is to save lives by helping smokers to stop and can also help.
What do I do if I see someone breaking the law?
If you believe someone is breaking the law by smoking in a smokefree premises or vehicle, we suggest you let a member of staff know as soon as possible so the incident can be dealt with quickly.
Members of the public may call the smokefree compliance line on 0800 587 166 7 to report possible breaches of the law. Your call will be answered by a call centre operator, who will then forward the information to the relevant local councils to follow-up as appropriate.
What workplaces are covered?
The legislation covers all workplaces, which are wholly or substantially enclosed, and used as a place of work by more than one person. Smoking rooms are longer allowed. Essentially it ensures that almost all workers, regardless of their place of work, would be protected from the risks to health of exposure to tobacco smoke and guaranteed the right to smokefree air.
What does ‘substantially enclosed’ mean?
Premises will be considered substantially enclosed if they have a ceiling or roof and the openings in the walls are less than half the perimeter of the walls. A roof includes any fixed or moveable structure or device e.g. retractable canvas awning, capable of covering all or part of the premises. Smoking will be allowed in shelters which are not substantially enclosed.
What does the legislation mean in practice?
Employers, owners and managers must ensure their premises are smokefree. This includes putting up ‘no smoking’ signs which meet the following minimum standards
- displayed at each public entrance to the premises
- in a position that is prominently visible to persons entering the premises
- are A5 (148mm by 210mm) in size
- include the international red “no smoking” symbol and the words: “No smoking. It is against the law to smoke in these premises.”
What about vehicles?
Vehicles used at a workplace by more than one person, regardless if they are not in the vehicle at the same time, must be smokefree at all times. This is because tobacco smoke is absorbed into soft furnishings and stays around for weeks long after a cigarette has been stubbed out. All vehicles must display ‘no-smoking’ signs prominently.
Are there any exemptions?
Certain establishments where people live and which are also workplaces eg prison cells, hospices and long-stay residential homes are exempted. However this does not mean that smoking will be allowed throughout the premises. Instead, employers will identify ‘designated smoking rooms’ which meet the following specifications
- are completely enclosed, except for windows / doors, on all sides by solid floor to ceiling walls
- do not have a ventilation system that ventilates into any other smoke-free part of the premises
- if a door opens onto smokefree premises, it needs to closed by mechanical means
- are clearly marked as a room in which smoking is permitted.
It is up to the management of individual buildings to decide if visitors will be allowed to access smoking rooms. The exemption exists for residents only and therefore should not be used by staff. There is no obligation for employers of exempt places to have ‘smoking rooms’ if they do not wish to do so.
What about entrances to buildings?
Outside areas are not covered by the legislation. However employers may want to consider making it a policy that smoking is not permitted within a certain distance from outside entrances, if possible, so that staff and visitors do not have to walk through a cloud of smoke to get into the building.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
- Failure to display minimum no smoking signs: up to £1000 or £200 fixed penalty notice
- Smoking in a no-smoking place: up to £200 or a penalty notice of £50
- Failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free place: up to £2500.
Do employers have to provide smoking breaks or outside smoking areas?
No on both counts. By law, employers must give staff an uninterrupted rest break of 20 minutes when their daily working time is more than six hours. Staff can, of course, smoke during their rest period, if they choose, but they must not smoke in an enclosed or partially enclosed area. As an employer you must decide whether or not to permit smoking elsewhere on your premises e.g. in open car parks, grounds, or shelters and you should indicate where smoking is allowed in your smoking policy.
QUIT is the independent charity whose aim is to save lives by helping smokers to stop.
Contacts at Leeds City Council
Planning - Contact the Development Enquiry Centre on Tel. 0113 247 8000
Environment - Contact the Health and Safety Team on Tel. 0113 247 7791
Licensing - Contact – Tel: 0113 247 4095