SmokeFree

What places are exempt from smokefree law?
Am I going to be guaranteed a smokefree hotel room? What is to stop the hotelier letting the room as smoking one day and smokefree the next?
I am a health visitor, can I insist the client stop smoking when I visit them at home?
During the course of my work, I visit clients in their own home, how does the law affect me?

There are very limited exemptions from the smokefree law, as set out in the Smoke-free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations. These regulations include exemptions for bedrooms in hotels, and for care homes, hospices and prisons. In most cases, exemptions do not apply to the entirety of premises, but to "designated rooms", that must meet requirements specified in the regulations. The law also includes a limited exemption for performers, which applies to the performer only during the performance, where the artistic integrity of a performance makes it appropriate for a person who is taking part to smoke.

View the Smoke-free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations (new window)

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While smokefree legislation will not guarantee that people will get a smokefree hotel room, the regulations require hotel proprietors to specifically designate the hotel rooms that are not smokefree and ensure that hotel rooms for smoking are clearly marked.

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The smokefree law does not prohibit people from smoking in their own private dwellings. You might find the advice in the The Royal College of Nursing's guide "Protecting community staff from exposure to second-hand smoke: RCN best practice guide for staff and managers" helpful for how community-based staff can be protected from secondhand smoke during their work.

Protecting community staff from exposure to secondhand smoke (pdf, 296kb)

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