Smoking ban: Butt naturally

The New Year looks all set to have healthier air as France, Portugal, Germany join other countries in banning smoking in public. India has gone one step further by becoming the only country where you can8217;t light up on screen. And this may not be the fag end of the tale:

8226; The world8217;s first known smoking ban may actually date back to 1590, when Pope Urban VII threatened to excommunicate anyone who 8220;took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose8221;, during his 13-day term

8226; The first nationwide tobacco ban was imposed by Hitler, in every German university, post-office, military hospital and Nazi Party office

8226; In 1990, the city of San Luis Obispo, California, became the first city in the world to ban indoor smoking at all public places, including bars and restaurants. In 1998, California enacted a complete smoking ban that included bars

8226; In 1975, Minnesota in the US became the first state to ban smoking in public spaces like health-care facilities, day-care premises and public schools. While restaurants were required to have 8216;No Smoking8217; sections, bars were exempt. Under the Freedom to Breathe Act, 2007, designated smoking areas, smoking in places of employment and public transportation are no longer permitted

8226; In 2003, New York City extended the smoking ban to all restaurants and bars, including those in private clubs, making it one of the toughest in the United States. The city8217;s Department of Health found in 2004 that air pollution levels had decreased six-fold in bars and restaurants after the ban went into effect

8226; In March 2004, Ireland became the first country to impose a ban on smoking in public places. In 2008, it is expected to ban advertising in shops advertising is already banned in print, on radio and television and on billboards and ensure that cigarettes remain out of sight when stored behind counters

8226; The only country in the world to have banned the sale and smoking of tobacco is Bhutan, since early 2005

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8226; UK imposed a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public places in 2007. In September 2007, Japan Tobacco announced the closure of its cigar factory in Cardiff, Wales, because of a 50 fall in tobacco sales since 1999, which was further accelerated by the ban. The British Beer and Pub Association, representing breweries in the UK, has claimed beer sales are at their lowest level since the 1930s, attributing it to the smoking ban

8226; Smoking was banned in public indoor venues in Victoria, Australia, in 2007. A government study in Sydney, Australia, found that the proportion of the population attending pubs and clubs rose after the imposition of a ban on smoking in enclosed places

8226; Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, Netherlands and Romania are other countries which have banned smoking in enclosed public spaces