Overview of the Structure of the Act Part 1
6.Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Act makes provision for enclosed and substantially enclosed public places and shared workplaces to be smoke-free. This follows the publication of the White Paper, Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier(1) in November 2004 which set out the Government’s proposals to shift the balance significantly in favour of smoke-free environments. The Act will also give the appropriate national authority (Secretary of State in the case of England and the National Assembly for Wales in the case of Wales) powers to make regulations to exempt premises or parts of premises from smoke-free legislation, although, in general, no exemptions can be made for premises operating under a premises licence or club premises certificate (as specified in the Licensing Act 2003). The Act also provides powers for the appropriate national authority to make regulations to specify additional places as smoke-free and to require specified types of vehicles to be smoke-free.
7.Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Act provides power for the Secretary of State to change the minimum age of sale of tobacco products through secondary legislation. The Act provides that the age specified under such secondary legislation may not be lower than 16 years or higher than 18 years.
8.This part of the Act extends to England and Wales. The Act also amends the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to include provisions for smoke-free ships. The Merchant Shipping Act extends throughout the United Kingdom and so do the amendments.