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The London Health Commission ran The Big Smoke Debate campaign as part of its role to advise the Mayor of London on health issues. The Commission did this by asking Londoners their opinions on a key health issue: passive smoking.

The Big Smoke Debate was one of the biggest consultation exercises on a public health issue ever seen in the U.K.

The aim of The Big Smoke Debate was to find out the opinions of people who live or work in London on the issue of smoking in enclosed public places. This is something that affects all Londoners, whether they are a smoker or not.

The Big Smoke Debate is not about whether people should smoke but rather where smoking should occur.

The Big Smoke Debate asked Londoners their feelings on whether further smoking restrictions should be in place in:

• Cafes
• Shopping Centres
• Taxis
• Offices
• Restaurants
• Pubs
• Bars
• Railway Stations

Londoners had until midnight, 31st December, 2003 to register their opinions by completing a short online survey on the campaign website, thebigsmokedebate.com, or reading the article in the December edition of the Londoner, the Mayor's monthly news sheet to all households within London .

The results have been presented to the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and members of the London Health Commission.

Click here to download the Big Smoke Debate briefing.

For more information on the campaign, or to complete the online survey, visit the campaign website: thebigsmokedebate.com