Briton Compensated Over Passive Smoking : Tobacco: Her claim is settled out of court. But experts predict the case will open the floodgates to a mass of similar lawsuits.

A 36-year-old, nonsmoking information officer on Wednesday became the first British citizen to be awarded compensation for health damages from the effects of passive smoking in the workplace.

Although the damages to Veronica Bland totaled only about $23,000, several experts predicted that her case will open the floodgates to a mass of similar lawsuits that could run into millions of dollars.

Bland claimed she suffered chronic bronchitis because workers near her at the Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in northwest England smoked some 150 cigarettes a day.

“I joined the council in the hope that I would be working in a nonsmoking environment,” Bland said Wednesday. “But I soon became ill, suffering from sneezing, coughing, streaming eyes and then bronchitis.”

Since her claim was settled out of court, there was no legal ruling by a judge in the case to set a precedent. But many others are expected to follow Bland’s lead in seeking damages from employers or other agencies that permit smoking.

Bland’s trade union, representing public employees, backed her action, as did the anti-smoking group ASH--Action on Smoking and Health.

A senior union officer said he is “very pleased” with the out-of-court settlement, which he said will help workers “persuade employers that it is necessary to do something about smoking at work.” ASH assistant director Mark Flannagan observed: “This is good news for those suffering from passive smoking at work. We now expect the floodgates to open as nonsmokers pursue similar claims against their employers.”

The Wednesday settlement followed a government warning on Tuesday that legislation will be introduced to outlaw smoking in public places--and at work sites, if voluntary means fail. Dr. Brian Mawhinney, the health minister, gave that notice in the House of Commons, after calls were made by the opposition Labor Party for a ban on tobacco advertising.

“Good progress is being made by voluntary means, but if this does not continue we will consider taking statutory powers,” Mawhinney said.

The Stockport Council said it has banned smoking in offices throughout its authority from 1990--before the legal action was taken--and the staff was permitted to smoke in certain areas not used for work. It is now considering a total ban, a spokesman said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand smoke as a carcinogen and said it kills about 3,000 American nonsmokers a year from lung cancer alone. The American Heart Assn. has estimated that secondhand smoke kills 53,000 Americans a year from cancer, heart disease and other ailments.