The Five Senses of England: Smell

As of July 1st 2007, there is one thing that residents and visitors in England will be smelling much less of - tobacco smoke.

The new smokefree law, introduced this summer, iterrupts life as England has know it for quite a while. Smoking was a huge part of England's social and cultural history. Now, smoking is against the law in almost all 'enclosed' and 'substantially enclosed' public places and workplaces. Which means no more smoking in taxis or lighting up in a pub.

According to Smokefreeengland the majority of reasons behind the new law are health related. Key factors are:

• a person's right to be protected from the harm of secondhand smoke and to breathe smokefree air.
• providing supportive smokefree environments to help people trying to give up smoking.
• reducing illness and the number of deaths from medical conditions caused by secondhand smoke.
• improving life expectancy because fewer people will take up smoking in the first place.

Opposition to the ban believes that the law infringes on a person's right to choose where and when to smoke.