Congratulations to the powers in that be in Spain who have passed the law enforcing smokefree workplaces including public transport, theatres, bars and restaurants.

New Zealand has just celebrated it's first year of smokefree bars and restaurants (public transport and theatres have been smokefree for many years) and in spite of the dire forecasts of lost profits and closures it has been the opposite. Profits are moving up and more people are being employed in the industry because one hundred percent of people now have choices when they go out; one year ago 75 percent did not.

Non-smokers and smokers can breathe safe air when they are out socialising, and the workers do not have to suffer respiratory illnesses and possible early death from working in smoky atmospheres full of poisonous chemicals like arsenic, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia.

The passage of the smokefree bars and restaurants legislation is one of the most significant life-saving initiatives in recent times. Tobacco smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death and disease in most countries and exposure to second-hand smoke means non-smokers also suffer death and disease.