A 16-year-old gymnast who has beaten a ten-a-day smoking habit is backing the ban.

Sam Ward, who started smoking when he was 14, hopes the new law will encourage other smokers to follow his example.

He said: "I would say to anyone, just don't be tempted by starting smoking. It isn't worth it. I regret doing it and I never will again."

The Cardinal Newman Catholic School student took up smoking because his friends did and he thought it would make him popular.

But Sam, from Saltdean, was struggling to buy cigarettes and was feeling unfit all the time.

He went to a stop smoking clinic and was put on a course aimed at helping him give up gradually.

He struggled at first but things were made easier when he was prescribed nicotine gum.

It took about two months for the cravings to pass and now a year on, he is still not smoking and is not tempted.

Like many reformed smokers, Sam now cannot bear the smell of cigarettes and has been urging his friends to kick the habit.

He said: "It feel so much better now. I am a gymnast, and once I gave up smoking, I noticed a dramatic improvement in my health and fitness."

Sam is one of Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust's success stories.

From July 1, smoking in enclosed public spaces will be outlawed and the PCT is helping businesses as well as smokers prepare for the ban.

Its head of health promotion, Kate Lawson, said: "We are urging people to start doing something about it instead of leaving it to the last minute.

"The areas mainly affected are the tourism industry and nightclubs, which is why we are urging them to look at this now.

"There is concern about a possible drop in trade but research done in Ireland, where the ban has been in force for a while, has shown rather than profits being badly affected, they have actually risen.

"Although there is the fear people won't go into a pub because they cannot smoke, there is also a larger number of people who had previously avoided pubs because they were too smoky who are now planning to go in more often."

  • For information about how to prepare your business for the ban or for advice on quitting smoking, visit the website at www.smokefreeeastsussex.org.uk or call the free NHS stop smoking service on 01273 267397.