The Health Act 2006 (c 28) is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
. It provides for a number of administrative changes in the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
.
Part 1 - Smoking
Chapter 1 - Smoke-free premises, places and vehicles
The Act is best known for having introduced provisions for the creation of a
ban on smoking in enclosed public places. This ban focuses on smoking:
* In places of work.
* In places that the public access to obtain
goods
In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants
and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tran ...
and
services
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...
, including private clubs.
* In other places designated by
Statutory Instrument
In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation.
United Kingdom
Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom.
National government
Statutory instrument ...
.
The sections of the Act allowing a ban extend to
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
although the provisions implementing the ban came into effect separately in England and Wales. In England the ban took effect on 1 July 2007. The ban in Wales came into effect on 2 April 2007.
Smoking was banned separately in Northern Ireland and Scotland — in Northern Ireland by the
Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 which took effect on 30 April 2007, and in Scotland (taking effect 26 March 2006) by the
Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005
The Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 13) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 2005, after being introduced by Scottish Executive Health minister Andy Kerr.
The Act established that, from 26 March 2006, it would ...
.
In 2017, the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
held that the smoking ban contained in chapter 1 of the Act did not bind the Crown, and therefore did not need to be enforced on Crown premises such as prisons.
Chapter 2 - Age of sale for tobacco etc
Section 13 granted the
Secretary of State the power to increase the age for purchasing tobacco from 16 to 18, which came into force on 1 October 2007.
Part 7 - Final provisions
Section 83 - Commencement
The following orders have been made under this section:
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2006(S.I. 2006/2603 (C.88))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2006(S.I. 2006/3125 (C.108))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2007(S.I. 2007/1375 (C.57))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2008(S.I. 2008/1147 (C.50))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2008(S.I. 2008/1972 (C.96))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2008(S.I. 2008/2714 (C.119))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Order 2007(S.I. 2007/204 (W.18) (C.9))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2) (Wales) Order 2008(S.I. 2008/3171 (W.284))
The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) (Scotland) Order 2007(S.S.I. 2007/9 (C.1))
See also
*
Smoking in the United Kingdom
References
*
Halsbury's Statutes
''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Measur ...
,
External links
The Health Act 2006 as amended from the
National Archives.
The Health Act 2006 as originally enacted from the
National Archives.
Explanatory notesto the Health Act 2006.
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2006
NHS legislation
Tobacco control
Smoking in the United Kingdom