Prime minister says ‘more details’ to come on outdoor smoking ban

The prime minister has confirmed the government is considering a ban on smoking in pub gardens and other outdoor venues.

It comes after The Sun said it had seen leaked Whitehall documents revealing ministers were looking at banning smoking in outdoor restaurants and outside nightclubs, sports venues, hospitals and in some small parks.

Keir Starmer today (29 August) confirmed the proposal in an interview with Sky News.

He said: “My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and of course on the taxpayer.

“So, yes we are going to take decisions in this space. More details will be revealed but this is a preventable cause of deaths, and we’ve got to take the action.”

Starmer said the government wanted to get the NHS “back on its feet” and move to a “preventative model” on health policy.

Full details of the proposal have yet to be confirmed but it forms part of wider plans to crack down on use of tobacco and vapes across the board. 

What have publicans said about the potential outdoor smoking ban?

The reports have received a largely negative response from hospitality venues, many of which invested in outdoor areas after the indoor smoking ban was enforced in 2007.

Steve Alton, chief executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping, said: “[Pubs] have already weathered so much and with only one in four making a clear profit currently, the impact of increased regulation and restrictions on their ability to survive and thrive could be devastating.”

Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny said: “This would be unnecessary legislation and would be very disappointing for a Government that claims to want to support business and grow the economy.

"We would prefer to see adult consumers being able to make sensible life choices – and most hospitality operators have already invested as such with both smoking and non-smoking outside areas.”

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said he didn’t believe the 800-strong pub chain would lose customers due to the ban but called it “a libertarian issue”.

Martin added: "Wetherspoon was the first pub company to open non-smoking pubs, long before smoking was banned.

“The rationale then was that non-smokers should be free to avoid passive smoking. That argument is diluted outside. Our beer gardens are mostly divided into smoking and non-smoking areas, with non-smoking greatly predominant.

“The question is whether the government should interfere in individual liberties where danger is involved. Mountaineering is dangerous, for example. Horse riding, statistically, causes many serious injuries.”

UKHospitality has called for the government to engage with the industry before any legislation is put forward and assess whether a ban would have a meaningful impact on reducing smoking.