SURREY looks forward to a smoke free summer of 2007, thanks to this week's House of Commons vote which imposed the ban in all enclosed public places. The smoking purge will see pubs, clubs, bingo halls, cinemas, offices and public transport bereft of nicotine stained plumes. However, the ban will not affect private homes, prisons, hotel bedrooms, residential care homes and - perversely - hospitals. While South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt voted against the motion to ban smoking in all pubs and clubs, he commented on the landmark legislation. "This is a huge step forward for public health and will improve the atmosphere at pubs and restaurants throughout South West Surrey. "I had hoped private clubs would be exempted, but am not complaining. The health benefits to smokers and non-smokers alike will be immense, with perhaps the biggest winners being children whose parents now decide to give up smoking," he remarked. Meanwhile, similar sentiments were echoed by Dr Mike Gill, south east director of Public Health. "This is an extremely important vote which should help to safeguard the health of millions of people in the South East. "Smoking currently accounts for around 16 per cent of all deaths in the South East. We know that about 70 per cent of smokers in the South East want to give up and this vote will help them to do so. In addition, while everyone clearly has the right to choose to smoke, it should not be at the expense of other people's health."