A report from the Royal College of Physicians has revealed that 500 people die each year in the UK from the effects of passive smoking at work. 

Exposure levels were found to be particularly high among hospitality workers, especially bar staff.

The college said the deaths were entirely preventable and that a total ban on smoking in enclosed public places would be the only effective means of saving lives.

A college spokesman said: “There is an unanswerable moral case to protect all people from passive smoking at work. All employees have a right to work in a safe environment.”

Contrary to popular opinion, the report also claims that a smoking ban in public places will reduce smoking at home rather than encourage it.

The study concludes that making the UK smoke-free would benefit the economy by about £4b each year through productivity gains, lowered insurance costs and reduced strain on the NHS.

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