THE civil liberties question on the issue of smoking is misplaced.

Smoking does not merely have a detrimental impact on smokers themselves, and therefore can legitimately be made the subject of legislation.

Smoking causes health problems, ranging from minor chest complaints to death. The drain on NHS resources as a direct result of tobacco is immense.

Smokers do not suffer ill-health in isolation. Often their health problems have an impact on their loved ones - their wives, their husbands, their children, their grandchildren.

And there is also the issue of passive smoking, which, according to latest studies, claims the lives of 1,000 people in this country every year.

The difficulty facing any government legislating against smoking is the allegation of hypocrisy prompted by the income generated by the duty on cigarettes, cigars and tobacco.

But governments must overcome this allegation and confront the issue of smoking head-on.

Governments have a responsibility and duty of care to prescribe against any activity undertaken by an individual which inflicts harm on another individual. Smoking falls into this category.

A ban on smoking in public places will reinforce awareness of the dangers of tobacco and hopefully reduce the number of people who smoke.

Where such bans have been imposed overseas, initial findings suggest the results have been positive.

We trust the next government, either Labour or Conservative, has the courage to introduce legislation which permits similar restrictions to be enforced in this country.