New regulations that will ban outdoor smoking is coming to England. Photo credit: Pavel Danilyuk, Pexels
UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced that the government is considering a smoking ban in pub gardens and other outdoor venues due to the "huge burden" smoking places on the NHS and taxpayers. He added that ministers are also exploring the possibility of banning smoking in other areas, including outdoor restaurants, sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs, and small parks.
“My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year to smoking, that's a preventable death, it's a huge burden on the NHS and of course on the taxpayer,” said Starmer. “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 to reduce the burden on the NHS and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.”
The proposals are being considered as part of a tobacco and vapes bill that the new Labor government committed to introducing in the King’s Speech last month.
This legislation will advance former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s key policy to ban cigarette sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, and will establish limits on the sale and marketing of vapes.
According to the BBC, the new ban would apply solely to England. It is not yet clear whether the rest of the UK will follow suit, though devolved governments could choose to introduce similar measures. If other nations adopt different regulations, it could be illegal to buy cigarettes or smoke in pub gardens in England, while such activities could still be permitted in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.