The cross-party committee recommended that a smoking ban would be enforced by local authorities, although it did not estimate its cost.

Smoking committee members Val Lloyd (chair) Peter Black Jeff Cuthbert Dai Lloyd Jonathan Morgan

In Ireland, the committee said that enforcement measures equated to 40 new jobs for enforcement officers. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has estimated the cost as around £6m over the first two years.

It also advised that exceptions to the ban would include private dwellings, designated areas in long-stay hospital units, designated areas in residential and nursing homes and designated areas of prisons.

Committee chair Val Lloyd said its recommendations "could have a significant impact on the health of the people of Wales".

'Harmful effects

Dr Richard Lewis, the Welsh Secretary of the BMA said it was "a landmark day for health professionals".

"We shall now be concentrating our efforts on persuading Welsh MPs to vote for the clause in the English Public Health Bill that will allow the National Assembly to ban smoking in public places," he said.

Dr Ian Campbell of the British Thoracic Society said the assembly committee's conclusions were "based on solid medical evidence showing the harmful effects of passive smoking".

He said: "A total ban on smoking in public places is a major move forward for Welsh lung health."

The pro-smoking group, Forest, said calls for a ban were not based on "incontrovertible scientific evidence of harm to others", and that evidence about passive smoking was "estimates, guesswork, subjective recollections and even gossip".