Independent
Editorial, November 17

"The scale of the crisis facing the public health system from the surge in obesity and smoking-related illnesses should force even the most libertarian among us to accept that the government can no longer be a passive bystander ... This is the stark backdrop to the reforms outlined by the health secretary, John Reid, in his white paper [on Tuesday]. And this is why he has proposed a ban on smoking in public places, including restaurants and pubs which serve food, by the end of 2008. Mr Reid has gone further than many expected, but only as far as he should ...

"[However] to impose voluntary restrictions on television advertising of junk foods before 9pm, with a legislative ban to follow by 2007 if the voluntary approach is not working, is misguided ... If we are to tackle the fat nation syndrome, it is vital to encourage people to take more exercise."

Peter Hollins
Evening Standard, London, November 16

"Ministers cannot fudge it. The evidence supporting a blanket ban [on smoking in enclosed public spaces] is so strong that there is widespread agreement among the medical community, and no room left for scientific debate. The government should follow Ireland's and Scotland's bold leads and introduce a comprehensive ban ...

"Mr Reid will never have a better opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the father of the NHS, Nye Bevan, and leave a lasting legacy for the benefit of the nation's health. If the government is serious about reducing the burden of smoking-related illnesses on the NHS, and preventing obesity, it must go much further."

· Peter Hollins is director general of the British Heart Foundation

Daily Telegraph
Editorial, November 17

"The white paper ... lists a series of gimmicks... designed more to give the impression that something is being done than actually to do anything constructive ...

"Almost everybody agrees about the nature of the crisis in the NHS: waiting-lists for operations are too long; it is becoming increasingly difficult to see a GP at home, or outside office hours; hospital wards are dirty, and many of those who work in them are demoralised ...

"What irks Tony Blair most of all is the public's infuriating tendency to do what the public wants. He seems to believe that it is the job of the government to stop that. Hence the draconian ban he proposes on smoking in public places - as impertinent and patronising an assault on freedom as any proposed by a British government since the second world war. Mr Blair should stop lecturing us on how to lead our lives and devote his energies instead to giving us a health service that works."

Times
Editorial, November 17

"Mr Reid was forced to confront fundamental questions about government's role in matters of personal choice, and he blinked. The result is a set of proposals that is vulnerable to caricatures of 'nannying' but at the same time depends heavily on a general desire for self-improvement and on the voluntary cooperation of the food and drinks industries ... By trying to please everyone, very few will be satisfied ...

"This was an opportunity to focus on practical goals of particular benefit to children, and use the full force of the law to achieve them. Instead it relies on websites, leaflets and cajolery. Mr Reid insisted it would realise the dreams of the founders of the NHS. They would, more likely, be baffled."

Iain Macwhirter
Herald, Scotland, November 17

"As a robust Lanarkshire MP, Mr Reid clearly wasn't going to let anyone call him a nanny... [He] bent to tabloid pressure and rejected a blanket ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. Instead, it will still be legal to light up in English pubs which don't serve food ... This means that Islington brasseries, where New Labour types hang out, will become smoke-free zones, whereas in gloomy bars in housing estates, where a packet of peanuts is a square meal, Labour voters will still have the right to poison themselves ...

"But the suggestion that Labour was sacrificing the lives of the working classes in order to gain votes at the next election would, of course, be outrageous."

Daily Mirror
Editorial, November 17

"The government has missed a great opportunity for the sake of pandering to the smoking lobby. [This] ludicrous half-measure ... could see 20,000 pubs stop serving food so they can continue to allow smoking. How does that fit in with its campaign against binge drinking? Or its claimed intention to make this a healthier nation? This isn't sense or joined-up government. It is a ridiculous mish-mash."

Scotsman
Editorial, November 17

"Do differences between the Westminster and Holyrood approaches to anti-smoking legislation reflect differences of zeal between Edinburgh and London? Or ... Jack McConnell's desire to make a political splash? ... The Westminster path is aimed at avoiding the problems over enforceability that attach to Scotland's total ban ... And it gives the public more time to adapt ahead of legislation. The first minister has certainly secured a large amount of media coverage for his proposals. That by no means makes them better law."