Scotland's largest local authority will unveil plans this week to extend the smoking ban to the exterior of all its premises, including staff car parks, school play grounds and internal courtyards.
Scotland's largest local authority will unveil plans this week to extend the smoking ban to the exterior of all its premises, including staff car parks, school play grounds and internal courtyards.
A year since the historic legislation outlawing smoking in enclosed public spaces came into force, Glasgow City Council's plans will force teachers who smoke to light up outside school grounds, while some of Glasgow's 79 elected members will have to forsake their favoured haunt of the city chambers' courtyard for George Square if they want a cigarette.
Smokers will no longer be permitted to congregate at areas where non-smokers pass, such as entrances to council buildings, while smoking breaks are no longer an accepted part of the working day.
The new guidance also confirms that the council - one of Scotland's biggest employers with more than 35,000 staff - will not provide outdoor smoking areas or shelters. The use of private vehicles as smoking shelters while on council premises is also not permitted. A spokeswoman said: "We are extending our no-smoking policy based on requirements set out by the executive, which encourages all public bodies to set an example in the workplace."
Today, the first anniversary, is being marked by a number of high-profile engagements, with First Minister Jack McConnell travelling to London to tell both Tony Blair and health minister Patricia Hewitt that the ban has been an unqualified success. He said he was proud that Scotland was the first nation in the UK to introduce the ban and equally proud that the population had allowed it to work.
Mr McConnell said: "Exactly one year ago today, Scotland took the boldest, bravest and biggest step towards improving our nation's health.
"The decision was controversial at the time. There were those who said it couldn't work. But I am convinced that it has absolutely been the right way forward for Scotland - not just for our nation's health, but for our economy and our tourist industry.
"The smoking ban is making a difference where it matters most, by preventing deaths and helping to keep families together for longer.
"The number of people in Scotland dying prematurely from heart disease, cancer and stroke is falling dramatically and will continue to fall as a direct result of the ban."
The ban will be introduced in Wales on April 2, in Northern Ireland on April 30 and in England on July 1.
New figures show that since 1999 the number of smokers in Scotland has dropped from over 30% of the population, to 24.6%. Scotland's Health Minister Andy Kerr and UK public Health Minister Caroline Cook are also marking today's anniversary with a visit to a smoking cessation clinic in the north of Glasgow.
Meanwhile, the British Medical Association in Scotland is calling for a campaign to target smoking among pregnant women, claiming more action was still needed to tackle the country's nicotine problem.
Most BMA members, 86%, also back raising the purchase age of cigarettes from 16 to 18.
