"But people do not have the right to damage the health of others. We therefore intend to shift the balance significantly in favour of smoke-free environments."

The Government is keen to avoid accusations of "nanny-statism", and says it only wants to guide people to make their own decisions about their health. Dr Reid said the White Paper treated citizens "as adults, capable of making their own decisions, while providing advice, information, encouragement, resources and personal support for those who want to make the healthy choices - and protection from the effects of those who do not".

Tackling smoking forms only part of the 200-page White Paper, Choosing Health, which follows months of speculation and consultation by ministers. The document also sets out how the Government intends to combat England's other top public health concerns, including obesity, sexual ill-health and alcohol abuse.

Regarding the obesity crisis, Dr Reid said the food industry and retailers, along with the Food Standards Agency, would develop a "simple code for processed food to indicate fat, sugar and salt content for shoppers".

This could mean the further introduction of a "traffic lights" system which would see red indicate

foods high in salt, fat and sugar and green for fruit and vegetables.

Dr Reid said the Government also wanted to improve the health of children, working with parents.

"Parents know their children's health is primarily their responsibility but, they told us, Government, business and anyone who has an influence also shares that responsibility to protect children from premature exposure to a world of adult choices," he said. "Parents want the security of knowing that will be done."

He said that the media regulator Ofcom would launch a consultation on advertising to children on TV. It is expected that advertisers could be asked to limit ads for junk food until after the 9pm watershed as part of voluntary moves.

Dr Reid said the Government would be increasing exercise for children in schools, with over £1 billion invested by the end of 2006 to boost PE and school sports.

The Health Secretary said we live "in an age when obesity has trebled in a generation, and, where if the number of obese children continues to rise, we face the prospect of children having shorter life expectancy than their parents".

The White Paper, called Choosing Health, also sets out efforts to proactively improve the health of adults, including providing people with "NHS health trainers" to motivate them to eat healthily and take regular exercise.

"Healthy living starts at a young age - that is why we have decided to provide funding so that by 2010 every primary care trust will be resourced to have at least one full-time school nurse working with each cluster of primary schools and secondary schools in their area," Dr Reid said.

But it was the proposed smoking ban - or lack of one - which grabbed most attention.

Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor of The Times, said that the White Paper appeared to have satisfied no one.

"It seems a rather lengthy and complicated way of achieving a ban that other countries seem to have introduced overnight - certainly the Irish Republic hasn't had too much of a problem," Hawkes told Times Online.

"So it's a bit half-hearted, and it clearly won't satisfy the campaigners. If you support a ban, why not just introduce it?"

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