General Article Second-hand smoke: when you work in others’ homes, where do their rights end and yours begin?

Topic Selected: Smoking and Health Book Volume: 406

Second-hand smoke: when you work in others’ homes, where do their rights end and yours begin?

Every year 800,000 people around the world die of passive smoking. Maradon333/Shutterstock

Ruaraidh Dobson, University of Stirling and Sean Semple, University of Stirling

Imagine someone walking into a cafe, sitting down at a table and lighting up a cigarette. In the UK – and other countries where smoking in indoor public places is banned – that would be almost unthinkable. In the 15 years since smoking bans came into effect across Britain, smoking inside has gone from a fact of life to an aberration, and the nation’s health is all the better for it.

Strokes, heart problems and asthma attacks have all fallen since the bans were introduced, particularly among people who used to spend their working lives in smoky environments. However, smoking isn’t banned in all workplaces and lots of workers still breathe in smoke when they’re doing their jobs, such as tradespeople, care workers and meter...

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