More people are trying to quite smoking and the air in pubs and bars is cleaner thanks to the implementation of Smokefree England legislation by the Labour Government last year.

A new survey looking at the first year of Smokefree England has been published to mark the one-year anniversary of the legislation.

The law has helped to create a more supportive environment for people to quit the habit, with over 234,000 people quitting smoking with the help of NHS Stop Smoking Services between April and December 2007. That's a 22 per cent increase in quitters compared to the same period in the previous year.

Exposure for bar workers to hazardous second-hand smoke has been reduced by 76 per cent, whereas prior to the legislation bar workers were found to be inhaling up to six times as much cigarette smoke as the average non-smoker.

Support for the Smokefree law also remains high: 76 per cent of all people and 55 per cent of smokers said they supported the law, while 98 per cent of all premises and vehicles that were inspected comply with the law.

Dawn Primarolo MP, Labour’s Public Health Minister, said: "We introduced this law one year ago to cut people's exposure to secondhand smoke. It's clear the law is working. Bar workers are inhaling far less smoke and most people think the law has had a positive effect on the country's health.

"This could not have been done without the tireless work and support of local authorities, business and health campaigners. I also commend smokers themselves for their willingness to protect the health of others by so readily complying with the law.”