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Charity calls for workplace smoking ban Wed 15 September, 2004 05:24 LONDON (Reuters) - Banning smoking in restaurants, pubs and workplaces will save more lives, more quickly in Britain than a new cancer drug, the head of a leading charity has said. "I believe a single piece of legislation would be the most effective thing we could do to save lives when you compare it with the time and money it takes to develop a first-class drug," said Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK on Wednesday. Smoking, which is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses, is one the biggest preventable causes of death. Researchers estimate that a ban would save the lives of almost 5,000 smokers and non-smokers a year. "Smoking kills 114,000 people every year in the UK and causes 90 percent of lung cancers. We are committed to vigorous research to find the best way to treat this disease. But second-hand smoke is also a real concern," Markham said as the charity issued a new policy document. Markham would like Britain to follow the example of Ireland, which earlier this year became the first country in the world to prohibit smoking in the workplace. More than 4,000 British doctors and Britain's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson have also urged the government to ban smoking in public workplaces. Markham added that a poll of Britons showed four out of five people would support such a law. The charity, which issued its top priorities in its Agenda for Change, also called for a limit on the advertising of junk food, responsible labelling and marketing of food and for 1.5 percent of the budget of the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) to be spent on medical research.

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