The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) has called on the British government to stop delaying and press ahead with a workplace smoking ban in the North.
The agency used World No Tobacco Day today to challenge new Health Minister Shaun Woodward to act.
Dr Brian Gaffney, chief executive of the HPA
Dr Brian Gaffney, chief executive of the HPA, said the Department of Health had received more than 70,000 responses to the consultation on smoking that ended in March and it was now time for a decision to be made.
He said new research by the agency this year showed increased support for smoke-free workplaces, with 74 per cent believing that enclosed public places in the North should be completely smoke-free.
The study also said 68 per cent of people were ready to support a decision to make all workplaces smoke-free.
Around 3,000 people die each year in the North from smoking-related diseases, according to the HPA.
Mr Gaffney said: "Bringing in smoke-free workplaces would be one of the best ways to tackle smoking-related illnesses and we would ask the government to stop dragging their heels and make a decision imminently."