smoking ban

[chakka35]

Waiting for a train at my local South West Trains station the other day I heard an announcement to the effect that smoking would be forbidden anywhere on the station as from today.
Since the parliamentary law applies only to outdoor spaces which are wholly or partially covered, and the platforms at that station are largely open, I wondered what authority SWT has to impose this ban? Have they formulated a new railways bye-law to cover it?
If I were a smoker I suppose my quickest way to find out would be to light up on the open platform and ask the person come to arrest me on what basis they were doing it.
But, come to think of it, it wouldn't be quick at all because it appears that the Smoking Gestapo are to work only 9-5 and on weekdays, which means that there will be no surveillance for 76.2 per cent of the time!

[jno]

largely open/partly covered sound like the same thing to me. But if it's an SWT station perhaps they can make the rules?

[spudqueen]

The station at Manchester airport is already (supposedly) non-smoking and smoking is banned at Anfield for next season, and that includes the stands which are well open to the air.

[chakka35]

Sorry jno, I expressed myself badly. What I meant was that there is a small portion of the platform which has a canopy over it; smoking is now not allowed there by the law of the land, even though it is open on three sides. The rest of the platform - by far the greater length - is completely open and is therefore not subject to the no-smoking law.
I merely wanted to know by what rule, bye-law or whatever SWT were banning smoking on this stretch as well.
As a non-smoker it does not affect me personally, but I am beginning to find distasteful the bullying that smokers are being subjected to, even in cases like this where nobody at all is affected by their smoking.

[chakka35]

Also just realised that SWT does not own the station anyway, being purely a train operating company! Back to square one...

[pingping]

i think this may pre-date the smoking ban as many stations (both underground and above ground) have been non-smoking for years ever since the King's Cross fire.

[saxy_jag]

The company or companies that own the station are entitled to forbid smoking on their premises, with or without the new law, and have been so for a number of years. It's the same as a private individual not allowing someone to smoke in their house or an employer forbidding their workers to smoke on the premises.