It has been reported that the government is no longer considering extending a smoking ban to outdoor hospitality.
The original plan to ban smoking in pub gardens and outside nightclubs was leaked without details, although prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and health secretary Wes Streeting confirmed it was under discussion.
The on-trade opposed the plans, with Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, asking: “Are we on the brink of becoming a nanny state? What is next?”
Anthony Pender, founder of the Yummy Collection, said about the proposal: “The impact here will be on the regulation of our own premises versus the public space outside venues. The concern is that the government will say we have to monitor public space outside our venues – but as we’ve seen in the past, this is hard to manage, especially when a pub or venue has no jurisdiction.”
The Sun newspaper is now reporting that opposition from hospitality has prompted the government to take the ban off the table.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We do not comment on leaks. 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 secondhand smoking.
“We’re considering a range of measures to put us on track to a smoke-free UK.”
The move would have formed part of the Tobacco and Vapes bill, which was first introduced by the previous Conservative government and will make it an offence to sell tobacco products to those born after 2008.
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