Britain is considering whether to ban smoking at the workplace, but Prime Minister Tony Blair said today he has not yet made up his mind.
"We're considering it, and that's as much as it is at the moment. Until we've done the various consultations it would be wrong to give a final view," Mr Blair told BBC television.
British medical groups have called for greater restrictions on smoking in public, modelled on bans in bars and restaurants imposed in Ireland.
"It's a difficult balance this. Because on the one hand, smoking does damage your health, but on the other hand you don't want to end up banning every (thing)," Mr Blair said.
"What we know is that there's no doubt about the damage that smoking does. And I think that for a lot of people who are not smokers, they would prefer to be in an environment where there is not smoking taking place," he said.
"I think in the end though, you also have got to have some local decision-making in this."