SMOKING will be banned in pub gardens and outside football stadiums, leaked government plans reveal.
Sir Keir Starmer plans to drastically extend the indoor smoking ban to a number of outdoor locations – secret Whitehall documents seen by The Sun show.
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The Prime Minister decided to go ahead with the outdoor ban with the support of the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty
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Vapers could also be stung as part of a new smoking ban rollout, with shisha bars confirmed to be out of line with the planned restrictions. Credit: Getty
The draconian restriction will be a hammer blow to struggling pubs who have spent decades building shelters in a desperate bid to keep the punters coming.
A Government source told The Sun: “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 harm of passive smoking.
“We are considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.”
The sparkle will be dimmed from outdoor restaurants, small parks, and even on sidewalks outside nightclubs.
Students, nurses and anyone playing the game will be stopped driving by toking outside universities, hospitals and sports grounds.
Vapers could also be stung as part of the new smoke-free rollout, with shisha bars confirmed to be out of line with the planned restrictions.
It will not cover people’s private homes, nor large open spaces such as large national parks or streets.
The ban on outdoor smoking will cause huge controversy and claims of overreach when it is announced as part of tougher tobacco and cigarette laws.
The law – which was originally designed to implement Rishi Sunak’s plan to eventually phase out gays – made no mention of the outdoor smoking ban when it was introduced in the King’s Speech just six weeks ago.
But since then ministers and officials have been working to tighten the proposals following fears that too many Britons are suffering from second-hand smoke.
This has caused tensions in the cabinet, with memos showing the business department fears the financial cost to catering businesses of banning gays in pub gardens.
Many landlords have already been forced to close after the pandemic due to rising costs and taxes.
And a recent impact assessment concluded that a ban on outdoor smoking would lead to “significant closures and job losses”.
However, the Prime Minister decided to go ahead with the outdoor ban with the support of the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty.
In preparation to fight the inevitable backlash, ministers will argue that the economic benefits far outweigh the costs.
It will claim that smoking costs the Exchequer £21.8 billion in health expenditure, which is significantly less than the amount of tax.
Downing Street will also point to the furore in 2007 when New Labor introduced a ban on indoor smoking, arguing that it did not actually harm businesses but helped save lives.
But it will still be seen as an immensely radical move by Sir Keir just weeks after winning the election.
Critics will point out that such a totemic proposal was not revealed to voters during the campaign.
The manifesto only promised to uphold the Tory plan to permanently raise the smoking age so that “the next generation will never be able to legally buy cigarettes”.
A public debate on the ban on outdoor smoking will be launched, but it is unlikely to change the government’s position.
While ministers should continue discussions on finalizing the policy, the current plan is to ban smoking outside hospitals, schools, college and university campuses, sports fields, and children’s playgrounds.
The distance at which someone will be allowed to smoke from one of these locations is still being determined.
And the decision to hit pub gardens and restaurant seating areas with restrictions is particularly problematic.
Outdoor areas in nightclubs have also been hit by curbs, a further blow to the Covid-hit sector.
The government’s 2020 press release made it abundantly clear that banning outdoor smoking in bars would be a major blow to businesses.
It said: “Since the current ban was introduced, businesses have invested heavily in their outdoor spaces and a ban on outdoor smoking would lead to significant closures and job losses.
The plans make it clear that people’s private homes will remain unaffected, as will places where human contact is only temporary, such as large parks and roads.
A few gray areas that are still being debated include beaches and indoor parks that pack a lot of people into small spaces.
One possibility being considered is the difference between large open spaces and smaller, more densely populated spaces.
The Whitehall documents also mention vape-free areas, but it is currently unclear whether the outdoor smoking ban will extend to e-cigarettes.
However, shisha bars will definitely suffer, which could mean curtains for the industry.
Like the original Tobacco and Vapes Act, the outdoor smoking ban will apply to all four counties in the UK.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We do not comment on leaks. Smoking claims 80,000 lives a year, puts enormous pressure on our NHS and costs taxpayers billions.
“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the harm of passive smoking.
“We are considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.”
While dozens of Tory MPs are likely to vote against the plans in the House of Commons, Sir Keir will almost certainly push it through with his huge majority.
But the Prime Minister hopes the public will support the measures, with some polls showing a majority support a ban on garden pubs.
Around 6.4 million people in the UK are believed to be smokers – around 13 per cent of the population.
However, those who do not use cigarettes are still harmed by “second-hand smoke” through inhaling the after-stream of cigarettes.
The NHS warns that second-hand smoke is particularly harmful to children who can develop asthma, chest infections and meningitis.
The current aim is to make England “smoke free” by 2030, meaning less than five per cent of the population smokes.
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