Smoking ban backed by Lib Dems

THE Scottish Liberal Democrats yesterday threw their weight behind an all-out ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants.

The coalition party handed in a submission to a consultation on smoking in public places launched by the Scottish Executive.

Labour’s deputy health minister, Tom McCabe, launched the consultation exercise earlier this month.

Robert Brown, the Liberal Democrat policy convener, said: "We believe that the prevention of illness is one of the most important priorities facing politicians in Scotland.

"You cannot tackle health promotion properly unless you deal with the single biggest cause of preventable death, which is smoking.

"This is a policy which has been proven to work in Ireland, New York and California, and we think it’s time we implemented it in Scotland."

Ministers will decide later this year whether to ban smoking in public places in Scotland.