SMOKING in pubs and clubs will be banned when a new law comes into effect in seven months.

From 6am on July 1 lighting up will be outlawed in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces.

This will include offices, factories, shops, pubs, bars, restaurants, members-only clubs, public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person.

The law will also mean that indoor smoking rooms will no longer be allowed. Anyone wishing to smoke at work will have to go outside instead.

A "shop-a-smoker" complaints hotline will be launched next summer to encourage people to report any infringements of the new law.

Smokers lighting up in pubs and restaurants will be fined £50 for a first offence or £200 if it goes to court.

Owners of licensed premises will face a maximum fine of £2,500.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said she hoped the measure, contained in the Health Act 2006, would help smokers quit the habit.

Second-hand smoke is a killer and causes a range of serious medical conditions including lung cancer, heart disease, and sudden infant death syndrome, according to the Government.

Rejecting fears that the ban could put pubs out of business, Ms Hewitt said: "Where countries have gone smokefree the impact on the health of staff has been immediate and positive.

"The experience of going smokefree in Ireland, Scotland, New York and elsewhere has been good for business."

Trade unions, concerned about the health of bar staff, welcomed the announcement.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "The UK's pubs, bars and restaurants will become healthier places to work, and in the longer term fewer workers will fall ill or die as a result of second-hand smoke."

Wales ban smoking from April 1, at the same time as Northern Ireland. Scotland became smoke-free earlier this year.