Cancer Research UK's response to tonight's vote for a comprehensive smokefree law without exemptions
Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: "This is the most important advance in public health since Sir Richard Doll identified that smoking causes lung cancer fifty years ago.
"Today's vote will protect thousands of workers and save many lives.
"We're delighted that the smokefree law will give all workers, including those in pubs and private members' clubs, equal protection from the life-threatening effects of secondhand smoke.
"The Republic of Ireland has shown that smokefree legislation works best when it contains as few exemptions as possible."
