Smoking should be banned in public places in Oxford, according to three quarters of voters in an Oxford Mail Internet poll.

As part of a major public consultation drive on a range of health issues, the Government is asking whether local authorities should be given new powers to enforce a ban on the habit in public and workplaces.

Several other cities, including Cambridge, Manchester and Liverpool, are already considering whether to become smoke-free and from Monday, March 29, a ban on smoking in pubs, restaurants and other enclosed workplaces came into force in the Republic of Ireland.

Following an article about whether Oxford should consider following this lead, our website www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk ran a poll asking readers for their views.

Of the 518 voters who took part, 379 (73 per cent) said they were in favour of a potential ban, with 139 (27 per cent) against it.

Oxford City Council said it was waiting for the Government to issue fresh guidance on smoking in public before it discussed the issue.

Council spokesman David Penney said: "There are no plans to discuss it until the Government guidance comes out, and we are still not sure when that is due -- or what form it will take. When that comes out we will look at that and take action which could include public consultation.

"But at this stage it is very early days. We don't even know what form the legislation may or may not take." Amanda Sandford, spokesman for pressure group Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said most opinion polls revealed strong support for a ban.

She said: "Quite clearly, the vast majority of people do favour smoke-free provision in workplaces and public places, so it comes as no great surprise that people in Oxford feel this way.

"The more polls we have like this, the more the Government has to take notice. It's an issue that is not going to go away.

"For smoke-free measures to be effective, they do have to have the support of people being affected by them.

"At the moment local authorities are limited in what they can do, but in the meantime they can still encourage businesses to adopt smoke-free policies and set a good example by making local authority premises smoke-free."

Ms Sandford said Ash was urging people to take part in the Government consultation and to make their views known.

The consultation by the Department of Health ends on May 28.

The results will be fed into a White Paper which the Government is to produce later this year.