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Government plans to ban smoking in pub gardens
The UK Government is considering an extension of the smoking ban to open-air spaces including small parks, outside nightclubs, and even pub beer gardens.
The proposed measures, which were leaked to The Sun, would see Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government ban lighting up a cigarette to many more locations, such as restaurant terraces, pub gardens, and outside of sports stadiums. Vaping, which is practiced by around an eighth of the UK adult population according to data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), may also be clamped down on as part of the legislation.
The severity of the proposal can be seen as an extension of Labour’s manifesto pledge to continue ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to make tobacco sales completely illegal for all of those born in or after January 2009.
Figures in the health service were pleased with the plans.
NHS Confederation director of policy Dr Layla McCay told BBC Radio 4: “[Smoking] is absolutely the health challenge of our time. It’s the leading cause of preventable illness in the UK, so we are heartened to see that progress is being made and that the intention is moving forward to really address one of Britain’s main drivers of health inequalities.”
According to 2019 figures from the European Respiratory Journal, 73,000 members of NHS staff are smokers. While hospitals already have smoke-free zones around the premises, the leaked legislation would see them extended to the nearby pavements.
Bad news for hospitality?
Rumours of the policy have not been met positively by those campaigning to protect and promote the UK’s pubs, restaurants and nightclubs.
Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) CEO Michael Kill suggested that the measures could have major implications for the personal freedoms of many Brits: “This raises the critical question: Are we on the brink of becoming a nanny state? What is next? While these measures may rightly be driven by public health considerations, they risk dividing opinion and imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges. At a time when our industry desperately needs the freedom to trade, the last thing we need is further barriers.”
“Although many will not be personally affected by these potential changes, it’s important to recognise that 6.4 million people in the UK still smoke, many of whom enjoy doing so in social settings like beer gardens,” Kill continued. “These leaked regulations could significantly impact their lifestyle choices and the businesses that serve them.”
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nichols was similarly damning, suggesting that it would cause “serious economic harm to hospitality venues”: “This ban would not only affect pubs and nightclubs, but hotels, cafes and restaurants that have all invested significantly in good faith in outdoor spaces and continue to face financial challenges. The government must embark on a full and detailed conversation with affected parties on the impact of such a ban before any legislation is laid. It must also assess whether such a ban would achieve its aims of meaningfully reducing smoking or simply relocate smoking elsewhere, such as in the home.”
Reem Ibrahim, acting director of communications for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), said that a ban on outdoor smoking would be “another nail in the coffin for the pub industry”.
The IEA suggested back in 2010 that the indoor smoking ban introduced in 2007 was responsible for three-quarters of pub closures, as smokers became less eager to visit their local.
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