The Health Act 2006 is an Act

Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It provides for a number of administrative changes in the National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

.

Chapter 1 - Smoke-free premises, places and vehicles

More significantly, the Act also introduced provisions for the creation of a ban on smoking

Smoking ban

Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...

 in enclosed public places. This ban focuses on smoking:

• In places of work.
• In places that the public access to obtain goods and services, controversially including private clubs.
• In other places designated by Statutory Instrument
  Statutory Instrument
  A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
  
  .

The sections of the Act allowing a ban extend to England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

 although the provisions implementing the ban came into effect separately in England and Wales. In England the ban took effect on 1 July 2007. The ban in Wales came into effect on 2 April 2007.

Smoking was banned separately in Northern Ireland and Scotland — in Northern Ireland by the Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 which took effect on 30 April 2007, and in Scotland (taking effect 26 March 2006) by the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005

Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005

The Smoking, Health and Social Care Act 2005 is an Act passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2005, after being introduced by Scottish Executive Health minister Andy Kerr....

.

Chapter 2 - Age of sale for tobacco etc

Section 13 granted the Secretary of State

Secretary of State (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department ....

 the power to increase the age for purchasing tobacco from 16 to 18, coming into force on 1 October 2007.

Section 83 - Commencement

The following orders have been made under this section:

• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2603 (C.88))
• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3125 (C.108))
• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1375 (C.57))
• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1147 (C.50))
• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1972 (C.96))
• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/2714 (C.119))

• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/204 (W.18) (C.9))
• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2) (Wales) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/3171 (W.284))

• The Health Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) (Scotland) Order 2007 (S.S.I. 2007/9 (C.1))

External links

• The Health Act 2006, as amended from the National Archives.
• The Health Act 2006, as originally enacted from the National Archives.
• Explanatory notes to the Health Act 2006.