Smoking would be banned in restaurants and cafes under legislation being promoted by two Sussex MPs.

Worthing West MP Peter Bottomley and Hastings MP Michael Foster are backing a hardline Bill designed to cut deaths from passive smoking.

The Smoking (Restaurants) Bill, which cleared its first hurdle in the Commons this week, would make it illegal to light up anywhere food was served.

It follows research which shows at least 165 bar staff, as well as 600 working in offices and 145 in manufacturing, die each year through passive smoking.

New York recently followed California in banning smoking in restaurants and bars, with Norway and the Republic of Ireland also preparing to outlaw the practice.

Mr Foster and Mr Bottomley warned second-hand tobacco smoke contained more than 4,000 chemicals, including arsenic, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and many other known poisons and carcinogens.

In a recent poll, 53 per cent of people in Britain, including smokers, said they wanted to eat in smoke-free environments.

Mr Foster and Mr Bottomley were among 115 MPs who voted for a smoking ban in both restaurants and pubs.

But Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames, Arundel and South Downs MP Howard Flight and Chichester's Andrew Tyrie were among 43 who opposed it.

Simon Clark, spokesman for pro-smoking group Forest, said the decision should be made by restaurant owners, not by law.

He said: "This Bill is the work of a small group of fanatical anti-smokers who want to interfere, not just with people's lives but people's businesses."

Roger Marlowe, chairman of the Brighton and Hove Hotels Association, said: "The general view in the industry is that it works well, as some hotels have rules about smoking and some have no rules at all. People can then choose where they go.

"They don't need the Government to start making new laws. "

Several Brighton hotels have already banned smoking, including the Alvia Hotel, Cavalaire House and Amblecliff, all in Upper Rock Gardens.

Alvia manager Gina Scourfield said the move initially hit business but was now proving a draw for more and more guests.