• The first nationwide tobacco ban was imposed by Hitler, in every German university, post-office, military hospital and Nazi Party office

• In 1990, the city of San Luis Obispo, California, became the first city in the world to ban indoor smoking at all public places, including bars and restaurants. In 1998, California enacted a complete smoking ban that included bars

• In 1975, Minnesota in the US became the first state to ban smoking in public spaces like health-care facilities, day-care premises and public schools. While restaurants were required to have ‘No Smoking’ sections, bars were exempt. Under the Freedom to Breathe Act, 2007, designated smoking areas, smoking in places of employment and public transportation are no longer permitted

• In 2003, New York City extended the smoking ban to all restaurants and bars, including those in private clubs, making it one of the toughest in the United States. The city’s Department of Health found in 2004 that air pollution levels had decreased six-fold in bars and restaurants after the ban went into effect

• In March 2004, Ireland became the first country to impose a ban on smoking in public places. In 2008, it is expected to ban advertising in shops (advertising is already banned in print, on radio and television and on billboards) and ensure that cigarettes remain out of sight when stored behind counters

• The only country in the world to have banned the sale and smoking of tobacco is Bhutan, since early 2005

• UK imposed a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public places in 2007. In September 2007, Japan Tobacco announced the closure of its cigar factory in Cardiff, Wales, because of a 50% fall in tobacco sales since 1999, which was further accelerated by the ban. The British Beer and Pub Association, representing breweries in the UK, has claimed beer sales are at their lowest level since the 1930s, attributing it to the smoking ban

• Smoking was banned in public indoor venues in Victoria, Australia, in 2007. A government study in Sydney, Australia, found that the proportion of the population attending pubs and clubs rose after the imposition of a ban on smoking in enclosed places

• Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, Netherlands and Romania are other countries which have banned smoking in enclosed public spaces