The first reading of the Private Bill to ban smoking in Liverpool workplaces was presented in the House of Lords yesterday.

The chair of the British Medical Association, James Johnson, who is also a vascular surgeon working in Liverpool, has called for mass support of the bill.

He said: “Liverpool is leading the way in trying to protect its residents from second-hand smoke. Health secretary John Reid could learn a thing or two from this campaign.”

According to recent statistics, at least 1000 people in the UK die every year from passive smoking while government scientists have said that “no infant, child or adult should be exposed to second-hand smoke”.