ASK any of this new generation of smokers - and indeed a few of their parents - what part Roy Castle has played in modern British society and they probably won't have a clue.

Indeed, ask any teenager who Roy Castle was and you'll be greeted with a blank stare.

Yet his death eventually acted as a catalyst for legislation that will doubtless prolong and even save the lives of thousands of people.

To my generation, Roy Castle was a popular entertainer who combined music, dance and comedy in his many TV appearances, including a long run hosting Record Breakers The smiling celebrity was an accomplished trumpeter and despite being a non-smoker, he contracted lung cancer, blamed on playing in countless smoky jazz clubs during his career.

Until his death in 1994, the curse of passive smoking went virtually unrecognised and it was only a decade later that countries around the world started to see the damage that non-smokers were in danger of suffering through inhaling cigarette smoke.

Ever since his death, his wife Fiona has carried on spreading the word and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only charity in the UK wholly dedicated to defeating lung cancer.

Yesterday was a big day for the Royal Bournemouth Hospital as Fiona Castle officially opened the new acute lung unit, which has already helped 120 patients.

The very fact that she has continued the fight after her husband's death says everything about how passionately she feels about this vital cause.