Employers face warnings for smoking ban breaches

A large number of warnings have been issued by smoking inspectors, following the introduction of smoking bans in July 2007.

Over a period of less than four months, smoking inspectors submitted over 1,200 individual warnings, according to a report by Personnel Today.

As a consequence, employers have been called upon to revisit their policies on smoking.

"Getting your smoking policy wrong could see employers winding up in costly and time-consuming legal proceedings," said Martin Edwards, head of employment at legal firm Mace & Jones.

"Employers that breach the regulations could face fines for either allowing people to smoke, or failing to display no-smoking signs."

The warnings were issued as a consequence of businesses not acting to prevent the consumption of tobacco products, by individuals, on their premises.

Smoking has been linked with a number of medical conditions, including lung cancer and heart disease.