Firms face legal action over ill-health caused by passive smoking

PUBS, clubs and restaurants in Britain were yesterday warned they faced the threat of compensation claims from workers whose health is damaged by passive smoking.

Anti-smoking group ASH sent registered letters to 170 leading firms in the hospitality trade making it clear legal action will be taken on behalf of staff.

The group announced a tie-up with law firm Thompsons as part of a campaign to urge workers who believed their health had been harmed by inhaling smoke to seek compensation.

Fewer than 30 pubs in Britain were smoke-free and most restaurants allowed their customers to smoke, according to ASH.

The government has been urging employers to improve conditions for non-smokers, such as segregating smokers into special areas and fitting ventilation systems.

But ASH said these measures would not properly protect vulnerable workers from inhaling "second-hand smoke" and called for all workplaces to be smoke-free.

The campaign group said it would shortly be announcing how it intended to encourage workers to take legal action for compensation.

ASH director Deborah Arnott said: "the time is long past when employers should have known that second-hand smoke is bad for their staff, and bad for the general public. To make quite sure that they understand this crucial point and the rising threat of legal actions that they now face we have sent the hospitality trade's leading employers a formal registered letter."

John Hall, a solicitor at Thompsons, added: "smoking in the workplace should have ended years ago."