EU-wide public smoking ban urged

BBC NEWS | Europe | EU-wide public smoking ban urged: "he European Union's 27 member states are being urged to do more to turn Europe into a smoke-free zone.

Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou raised the prospect of EU-wide legislation to achieve this goal, as he launched a public debate in Brussels.

Officials say passive smoking kills 79,000 Europeans per year - about one in nine of all tobacco-related deaths.

Ireland was the first EU country to ban smoking in all indoor public spaces and the UK will follow suit this year.

Some other EU countries have introduced partial bans, which allow smoking rooms in bars and restaurants.

See EU support for smoking bans

A poll published last year suggested that smoking bans were popular in countries where they had been introduced."