Passengers at railway stations in England near the Welsh border have been ordered to stop smoking – six weeks early.
Wales has already banned smoking in public in April but smoking at all English railway stations will be banned after 1 July 2007.
The stations in England run by Arriva Trains Wales are in Cheshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. Among the stations affected by the early ban are Nantwich, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Chester and Runcorn East.
The pro-smoking group Forest – which is funded by the tobacco companies – has complained about the ATW ban which affects the whole station, including the platform.
But Arriva spokesman Mike Bagshaw said: "We wanted a uniform smoking ban across all our stations."
Nicotine is highly addictive but nearly three-quarters of Britons back a total ban on smoking in all indoor public areas and in restaurants, according to a survey.
Scotland was the first part of the UK to implement a smoking ban in March last year and smoking is already banned in public places in Northern Ireland.
The Eurobarometer survey, published ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, also shows overwhelming support across Europe for such bans, with support for smoke-free offices running at 88%, compared with 86% last year.
The poll also reveals that nearly half of British smokers have tried to give up the addictive habit in the past 12 months.