Leaked documents suggest smoking could be banned in pub gardens, restaurants, hospitals and sports fields in the UK, with ministers considering tougher measures.
The measures are being proposed as part of a tougher version of the previous government’s tobacco and vaping law, which would have banned the sale of tobacco to people born on or after January 2009. the Sun reports.
Secret Whitehall documents confirm plans to extend the smoking ban in buildings despite some opposition within the government, the newspaper reports.
Under the proposals, the use of lighting would also be banned in outdoor locations near clubs and restaurants, and on sidewalks near both, as well as at universities, playgrounds and small parks.
Ministers could also crack down on vapers and shisha bars, it said. The restrictions do not apply to private homes or large open spaces such as parks or streets.
The Tobacco and Vaping Bill was introduced in parliament but was defeated when a general election was called. Last month’s throne speech promised to reintroduce legislation to gradually raise the age at which people can buy cigarettes, but made no mention of an outdoor ban.
Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said she was “encouraged” to see progress being made towards ending smoking.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I am obviously in favour of measures that will help end smoking. We have seen from the previous government – and from this current government and indeed from wider society – this strong commitment to move towards ending smoking.
“It is absolutely the health challenge of our time. It is the leading cause of preventable disease in the UK, so we are pleased to see progress being made and the intention continuing to really tackle one of the leading causes of health inequalities in Britain.”
She added: “Ultimately, all of these steps are steps in the same journey, which is towards a smoke-free future for Britain, reducing those health inequalities and reducing the huge problems that smoking causes for the individual and society.
So it’s not surprising, but along this journey there will be different kinds of decisions, and there will be difficult decisions to be made.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We do not comment on leaks. Smoking claims 80,000 lives a year, puts a huge strain on our NHS and costs taxpayers billions.
“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking and are considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free,” the BBC reported.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, told the Sun: “This means the end of pubs.”
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Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick told the newspaper: The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing. Our country faces enormous challenges. Why is Starmer focusing on this nonsense?”
The move has reportedly caused tensions in the cabinet, with memos showing the Department of Trade and Affairs fearing the financial cost to the hospitality industry, with many landlords forced to close since the Covid crisis due to rising costs and taxes.
However, Keir Starner is said to have decided to go ahead with the ban on outdoor sports, with the support of England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty.
Stewart Wood, a former adviser to former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, told the BBC’s Newsnight: “There is a difference between smoking outdoors and walking in a forest and smoking outdoors where large groups of people, particularly children, are concentrated, such as in restaurants, pub gardens or at football matches.”
Former Conservative Party special adviser Anita Boateng told the BBC: “It feels like a very draconian step for people who are adults, who can make their own decisions and who can smoke legally.
“The point is that you are in an outdoor area of a pub garden in a walled area. You don’t have to be there if you don’t want to experience passive smoking.”