Smoking will be outlawed in all pubs under plans being considered by the Government.

The move would signal a massive victory for the Telegraph & Argus Clear The Air campaign, which is lobbying for a complete ban on smoking in public places.

Ministers originally planned to ban smoking in 99 per cent of public buildings - exempting pubs which did not serve food.

But Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt wants to drop this amid fears it would be difficult to enforce and remain a health risk to customers and bar staff.

She is understood to want the ban to apply to all pubs and

restaurants except those with a separate smoking room, which would have no bar and no staff.

Today Ann Cryer, Labour MP for Keighley, backed the proposals. She said: "I'm happy with plans to have a separate smoking room. If people get great pleasure out of smoking, fine, but this should not be inflicted on

anyone else.

"I find it hard work to go into an atmosphere where people are smoking. I get short of breath and don't want to stay there for very long. It isn't fair on those of us who don't smoke to inhale other people's smoke, especially now we appreciate the impact passive smoking can have on

our health."

The T&A launched the Clear The Air campaign after a

Government-commissioned report revealed 34 per cent of people in the city died from smoking-related illnesses.

Health experts say people who continue smoking put themselves at greater risk of potentially-fatal illnesses including cancers, heart failure and

respiratory diseases.

Under the Public Health White Paper, people who ignore smoking bans in pubs, restaurants and workplaces will be handed on-the-spot fines of up to £80.

Dr Sheila Webb, a consultant in public health in Bradford, said: "The health profession would be 100 per cent behind a total ban of smoking in public places.

"One of the difficulties with the proposed legislation was it would exclude licensed premises which don't serve food and this would be difficult to implement.

"It was likely to mean many pubs would stop selling food to allow smoking, many in deprived areas, which would widen inequalities in terms of access to a smoke-free environment.

"The move towards a total ban on smoking is the sensible thing to do. It make the issue clear."