All government departments in Northern Ireland are to become smoke-free from January 1st next year, it was announced today.
Smoking will no longer be allowed at the Northern Ireland Office as well, although the ban does not apply to prisons.
North Health Minister Angela Smith said the decision was an employer-driven initiative. "The dangers of passive smoking are now well known and any decision which may contribute to a healthier workplace is to be encouraged," she said.
Meanwhile, 4,500 British doctors signed a strongly-worded letter delivered to Tony Blair today in which they demanded an immediate ban on smoking in public places.
They were delivered to Blair's Downing Street residence in a giant cigarette packet labelled "Passive smoking kills. Smoke-free work places save lives."
"It is unequivocally clear that passive smoking kills in excess of 1,000 people a year in the United Kingdom," Dr Peter Maguire of the British Medical Association (BMA) told BBC radio.
Sixty five per cent of Britons support a ban on smoking in enclosed public places such as pubs and restaurants, an ICM poll for BBC television said today, while 34 per cent oppose it.
Support for a ban was 42 per cent among smokers and 76 percent of non-smokers.