To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has carried out an assessment of the (a) prevalence and (b) risk to public health of smoking in churches and other places of worship; and if she will make a statement. (138528)

The evidence of the risk to health from exposure to second-hand smoke is well established, regardless of the type of premises where people might be exposed. For this reason, the smoke free provisions of the Health Act 2006 will prohibit smoking in virtually all enclosed public places and work places in England from 1 July 2007, including in places of worship. The English legislation is in line with that already in place in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Department has not carried out a specific assessment of the prevalence of smoking in churches.