England set for smoking ban from July
pharmafile | December 1, 2006 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
The United Kingdom will join the ranks of countries to ban smoking in public when, on 1 July 2007, England becomes smoke-free.
Legislation contained in the Health Act 2006 brings England into line with the rest of the UK in making smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces illegal.
The ban is expected to boost sales of OTC and prescription smoking-cessation products and will be supported by a major public information campaign.
Health secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "The scientific and medical evidence is clear: second-hand smoke kills, causing a range of serious medical conditions, including lung cancer, heart disease and sudden infant death syndromes, or 'SIDS', in children."
This legislation will help to prevent the unnecessary deaths caused every year from second-hand smoke, and recognises that there is absolutely no safe level of exposure.
The government has launched the Smokefree England campaign to help the 3.7 million businesses the ban will affect and provide members of the public with information on both the changes and NHS services for those who want to quit.
England will be the last part of the UK to enact a smoking ban – Scotland did so in March this year and measures in Northern Ireland and Wales come into effect on 1 April 2007.
Evenn its original form as a partial block on public smoking, it was estimated 175,000 smokers would be persuaded to kick the habit, with increases in sales of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products expected as a consequence. This figure is now expected to be higher thanks to the total ban.
The consumer NRT market is booming. Pfizer's Nicorette dominates it, followed by GlaxoSmithKline's NiQuitin CQ range and then Novartis' Nicotinell.
In contrast, the prescription NRT market is led by GlaxoSmithKline's NiQuitin CQ range with Nicorette close behind and Nicotinell in third place.
Non-NRT prescription products are restricted to GSKs Zyban (bupropion) and Pfizers soon-to-be-launched Champix (varenicline) a first-in-class drug with blockbuster potential.
