THE ban on smoking in public places is unlikely to help Prince Harry to give up his habit. A range of exemptions will include royal palaces, army barracks and certain sports venues.

But while the Prince’s behaviour may not be greatly challenged when his grandmother signs the Health Act 2006, a number of questions will remain about the extent to which the ban should reach into commoners’ lives.

Prisoners, students, the mentally ill, the terminally ill, troops and hotel guests will still be able to satisfy their nicotine cravings after the ban starts in summer next year, officials confirmed yesterday.

The Department of Health will instigate a three-month consultation period to iron out some of the trickier issues once the legislation passes the Lords this summer.

One of the contentious areas is vehicles. Smoking will be permitted in private cars but banned for the driver and passengers of taxis, and probably company cars. But company cars might escape if everyone at the company smokes.

Smoking in a privately owned lorry would be legal, but not in a company lorry. Health department officials said this would follow the precedent set in Ireland, where smoking in public places was banned in March 2004.

A lorry driver beginning his journey in Northern Ireland, where a smoking ban does not start until April, can enjoy a cigarette as he drives. But as soon as he crosses into the Irish Republic he faces a hefty fine for doing so.

The application of the new law to sports grounds could also cause confusion. The Bill states that smoking will be outlawed in “substantially enclosed” places. The Department of Health recently indicated that its original definition of “substantially” as 70 per cent could end up as 50 per cent.

A departmental source said yesterday: “If the roof of the Millennium Stadium was closed, then it would meet the definition [for a smoking ban]. If it was open, it might not.

“The 70 per cent figure provisionally included the ceiling and walls. Now the thinking is that the structure would have to have a ceiling (for the ban to apply) but 50 per cent of the rest would have to be enclosed to be defined as an enclosed public place.”

Confused? Never mind. The Bill allows for special exemptions from the “substantially enclosed” provision.

Many bus shelters will have less then 50 per cent enclosure, but smoking at them will probably be banned “because people gather there”, the department said. Train platforms are likely to be made smoke-free for the same reason.

Another difficult area concerns home workers. “Where a music teacher works from home, what would be the situation about where would be smoke-free?” the source said.

As one of the aims of the legislation is to protect workers, the case of caterers asked to work at a smoky function in a private home will also be subject to consultation.

Although Ministry of Defence property is not covered by the Bill, top brass may yet restrict Prince Harry and other military staff. The Navy has already decreed that smoking will cease on submarines by 2008, with smoking on surface ships confined to the “weather deck”. The Army has pledged to review the barracks question.

A joint committee has been set up by the Health Department and Home Office to decide exactly where prisoners should be allowed to smoke.

Ian Willmore, of the anti-smoking pressure group ASH, believes that many open-air sports stadiums will be added to the ban, even though they do not strictly meet the criteria. He added: “We believe there is a strong case for prisons to become smoke-free in the long-term given that tobacco is the number one currency and the health risks to inmates.”

AS THE SMOKE CLEARS: LAYING DOWN THE LAW ON WHERE THE BAN APPLIES

Miscellaneous Not banned in private residences, hotel rooms, student rooms in halls of residence and army barracks


DEBATE
Join the debate at www.timesonline.co.uk/debate

Times Recommends

• An officer and a gentle woman
• Dame Helen Mirren is worthy of the Epidaurus
• Foods that can help to prevent swine flu