As the Government prepares to outline proposals on smoking this month a call has been made in Bradford for a complete ban on cigarettes in public places.

Dianne Woodall, of the Bradford Stop Smoking Service, said to protect people's health there "ideally would be an outright ban".

But landlords appear to be more reticent, some fearing a loss of smokers would translate into a loss of trade.

Health Minister Dr John Reid has met both anti-smoking and pro-smoking campaigners as he prepares to unveil the long-awaited public health white paper this month.

While he said he did not want to pre-empt the document, he told both sides that he was prepared to take action. Anti-smoking groups, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), want a complete ban on smoking in all workplaces, including pubs and restaurants.

But smokers' lobby group Forest says the public should have a choice of whether they smoke or not and where they choose to do so.

But Dianne Woodall said: "Nothing can stop smoke from drifting. If a non-smoker spends 30 minutes in a room where other people are smoking they will suffer from the same health implications as the smokers.

Coun Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's portfolio holder for the environment, said: "I believe in freedom of choice and that includes the choice of being able to breathe clean air."

Anthony Vincent, owner of the Boy and Barrel, Westgate, said that it would be impossible to separate his small pub into smoking and non-smoking areas.

He said: "Smoking is important to my customers; I am totally against a ban. It would put me out of business." Mr Vincent said his non-smoking customers and staff did not mind the atmosphere in the pub.

He said: "I am a non-smoker and I made the decision to own a pub knowing that I would be working in a smoky environment. I know that the smoke might affect my health."

Some pubs, like the Corn Dolly, Bolton Road, have installed filter systems to reduce the amount of smoke in a room. Manager Neil Dunkin said a lot of money had been spent on the system and that it did make the air much cleaner.

But Dianne Woodall disagreed about the benefits of filter systems. She said: "The force of a tornado would be required to clear a room of cigarette smoke."

She said employers had a responsibility to protect their staff: "Every public place is someone's workplace," she said.