Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed the government is looking at tougher rules on outdoor smoking to reduce the number of preventable deaths linked to tobacco use.
Responding to reports that smoking could be banned in some outdoor spaces, the prime minister said “we have got to take action” to reduce the burden it puts on the NHS.
Under new plans, smoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, and outside hospitals and sports grounds.
Health experts have welcomed the plans, but the BBC has been told that some ministers have raised concerns about the impact the ban could have on the hospitality sector.
The King’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament last month promised to reintroduce the last government’s legislation, which would have outlawed the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 2009.
It is not clear whether the outdoor smoking ban, first reported by the Sun, would apply to the whole of the UK or England only.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it did not comment on leaks but was considering a range of measures to “finally make Britain smoke-free”.
A spokesperson added: “Smoking claims 80,000 lives a year, puts huge pressure on our NHS, and costs taxpayers billions.
“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the harms of second-hand smoking.”
Hospitality bosses have said that any plans to ban smoking would not be “without economic harm”.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UK Hospitality, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This needs to be thought through very carefully before we damage businesses and economic growth and jobs.”
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said reports of the plans “have understandably caused concern across the sector”.
He added they risk “imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges”.
But health professionals have welcomed the proposals, which they described as overdue.
Dr Layla McCay of the NHS Confederation told the Today programme she was “heartened” that progress was being made to abolish smoking.
She said hard decisions needed to be made but: “Ultimately, all of these steps are steps in the same journey, which is towards a smoke-free future for Britain, reducing those health inequalities, reducing the huge problems that are caused to the individual and to society from smoking.”
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said the government was “catching up with what the public expects, and that’s not to have to breathe in tobacco smoke in places like children’s play areas and seating areas outside pubs, restaurants and cafes”.
However, she added it was important to ensure that there were still outdoor areas for people to “smoke in the open air, rather than inside their homes”.
Meanwhile the Conservative opposition, including leadership contenders, have criticised the proposals as over-regulation.
Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said the plans amounted to “nanny state regulation” that would be “economically damaging”.
Former home office minister Robert Jenrick posted on social media saying: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the proposals as “government overreach on a scale that is utterly ridiculous”.
“Frankly, if they do this, it will be the death knell of the pub,” he told the BBC.
Smoking caused an estimated 74,600 deaths in 2019, according to NHS England’s latest available data.
There were 408,700 hospital admissions in England due to smoking in 2022-23.
About 12.9% of people aged 18 and over in the UK – or about 6.4 million people – smoked cigarettes in 2022 according to the most recently available data from the Office for National Statistics.
That is the lowest proportion of current smokers since records began in 2011.
Those aged 25-34 age represent the highest proportion of smokers, while the lowest are those aged 65 and over.
During his tenure as prime minister, Rishi Sunak set out plans to create a “smoke-free generation” and reduce the number of smoking-related deaths.
But his Tobacco and Vapes Bill was shelved after he called the general election in May.
Had it become law, selling tobacco to anyone born after 1 January 2009 would have become illegal.
Labour adopted the bill after coming into power and have included it in their agenda.
