Smoking could be banned in pub gardens and restaurant terraces

Smoking could be banned in pub gardens and outdoor restaurants, according to leaked government documents.

The Sun first reported on the news and said that secret Whitehall documents had confirmed the extension of the indoor smoking ban, despite some opposition within government.

The previous government had introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in Parliament with the aim of outlawing the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 2009, but dropped this once the general election was called.

However, there has been a renewed effort to phase out tobacco across the board, with Labour reviving the plans in the King’s Speech last month and promising to reintroduce legislation to progressively raise the age at which people are allowed to buy cigarettes.

The Department of Health and Social Care had told The Sun it did not comment on leaks but was committed to “finally make Britain smoke-free”.

“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the harms of second-hand smoking,” it added.

The measures are believed to limit smoking on pavements outside nightclubs, shisha bars, children’s playgrounds, small parks and outside stadiums, hospitals and universities.

It will not stop people from smoking at home or in large open spaces, such as large national parks or streets.

The Whitehall papers also mentioned “vape-free areas” but it is currently unclear if the ban will apply to e-cigarettes.

A public consultation will be launched over the outdoor smoking ban, but The Sun said “it is unlikely to change the government’s position”.

Commentators discussed The Sun’s front page story on BBC Newsnight yesterday (28 August), including Lord Stewart Wood, former adviser to Labour’s Gordon Brown, who said: “There’s a difference between smoking outside and walking in a forest and smoking outside, where there are large groups of people, particularly children, concentrated, like restaurants, like pub gardens, like football matches, so I suspect that’s the distinction they are trying to draw here.”

However, Anita Boateng, former Conservative special adviser, also told the BBC: “The government has to use its authority wisely and this feels like a very draconian step for people who are adults and can make decisions and legally decide when to smoke.

“The point is that you are outside in a pub garden in a walled off area. You don’t have to stand there if you don’t want to experience secondhand smoke. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said the leak had “understandably caused concern” across the industry, adding: “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.”

Image: Shutterstock/Paolo Paradiso