The government has finally announced it will ban smoking in pubs that serve food but will allow it to continue in those that do not.

The move is expected to prompt many pub landlords across the country to drop food from their menus in order to preserve their customers' right to smoke.

Private members' clubs will also be exempt from the ban.

A decision on the bill stalled while ministers haggled over the exemption, which health campaigners said will affect pubs in predominantly poor areas.

It is understood that defence chief John Reid and Tony Blair both opposed an outright ban, including health secretary Patricia Hewitt's proposed compromise of sealed smoking rooms, with the prime minister fearing the perception of running a 'nanny state'.

Undaunted, Hewitt praised the result for the lives it will save as she introduced the long-awaited bill to reporters this morning.

"This package is a huge step forward for public health and will help reduce deaths from cancer, heart disease and other smoking related diseases," the health secretary said.

"We believe that these proposals offer the right balance between reducing the public health risk whilst allowing an element of choice for those who do want to smoke with a drink to do so in a way which has minimal impact on other people

Hewitt added that, by 2007 when the legislation would take effect, 99% of Britons will be working in smoke-free environments, compared to just 51% of people today. She also said the government will consult on measures to protect employees where smoking will not be prohibited.

Health campaigners, however, were quick to communicate their disappointment in the government's decision, claiming the bill does not go far enough to protect all workers.

"The government has thrown away the opportunity of a lifetime to protect the public's health. It is astonishing,” said James Johnson, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA).

"I cannot believe that, after consulting for three months, this government has decided not to listen to the vast amount of conclusive evidence that secondhand smoke kills and what was needed was a total ban."

Johnson said the government has let down workers in England, pointing out that Scotland, Northern Ireland and potentially Wales have all stepped up to protect theirs