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The government is considering a ban on outdoor smoking in an effort to curb preventable deaths and alleviate pressure on the NHS.
The proposal would affect small parks, pub gardens, and areas outside hospitals, nightclubs and sports venues.
Sir Keir Starmer said action is needed “to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer”.
But the hospitality industry warned it would cause serious economic harm to venues already struggling since the Covid-19 pandemic, and questioned whether the move is in the public interest.
The proposed ban applies only to England, although devolved governments could choose to bring in similar rules.
Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat described the policy as an assault on individual freedoms.
Leaked papers revealed that the government is considering a ban in specific outdoor areas as an extension of legislation first introduced by Rishi Sunak’s government.
“My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking,” Sir Keir said in Paris while visiting the French president Emmanuel Macron. “That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS, and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayer.”
A YouGov poll suggests that the policy may have support among the electorate, with almost six in 10 (58 per cent of) British adults supporting a ban on smoking in pub gardens and outdoor restaurants. Just over a third (35 per cent) say they would oppose or strongly oppose the idea.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the harms of second-hand smoking. We’re considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.”
But it is understood that the Department for Business and Trade has raised concerns about the impact on the hospitality sector – particularly pubs, which are already struggling to remain open.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, warned: “A ban on smoking in outdoor spaces comes with the prospect of serious economic harm to hospitality venues. You only have to look back to the significant pub closures we saw after the indoor smoking ban to see the potential impact it could have.
“This ban would not only affect pubs and nightclubs, but hotels, cafes and restaurants that have all invested significantly in good faith in outdoor spaces, and continue to face financial challenges.”
She also questioned whether the ban would “meaningfully reduce smoking ... or simply relocate smoking elsewhere, such as in the home”.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “We must question whether such an approach is truly in the public interest, or whether it risks overregulation at the cost of personal freedom and business viability.”
The founder of a Birmingham venue that spent thousands renovating its outdoor space has described the government’s plans to ban smoking in pub gardens as a “kick in the teeth”.
Jack Brabant, who co-founded Hockley Social Club in central Birmingham, said “a lot of money” had been spent on “making our terraces hospitable and a place where people can relax”.
This included spending thousands of pounds revamping the outdoor area – where there are also food stalls – including a new smoking area, ensuring there was a “space accessible to anyone” as well as a “space that smokers can go”.
Mr Tugendhat said: “If you’re not doing something that’s harmful to others, then frankly, you should be allowed to do what you like. And I think that answers the [question of] outdoor smoking.”
He added: “I think it’s absolutely essential that what we do is we set out an agenda that is supportive of public health. I think that’s absolutely clear, but it also needs to respect freedom.”
Nigel Farage, a committed smoker of cigarettes, said: “I do understand that people in enclosed areas didn’t like smoke, but you’ve got the option now – you can be inside, you can be outside, you can avoid it if you want to. I don’t think the government have thought through the consequences of this.”
Tim Martin, founder of JD Wetherspoon, said the proposed smoking ban raises a “libertarian issue”. He said: “The question is whether the government should interfere in individual liberties where danger is involved. Mountaineering is dangerous, for example. Horse riding, statistically, causes many serious injuries. I don’t think it will have a big effect on our business, one way or the other, and it is really a libertarian issue.”
The plan is for MPs to vote each year to raise the legal smoking age, meaning the habit will be completely prohibited for the next generation – starting with teenagers who are currently 14.
Reem Ibrahim, acting director of communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs think tank, said banning outdoor smoking would be “another nail in the coffin for the pub industry”.
She said: “The government’s own impact assessment concluded that banning smoking outdoors will lead to pub closures and job losses. It should look to countries like Sweden, which has attained the lowest prevalence of smoking in the world – not by implementing nanny-state measures like this proposal, but by allowing adults to choose safer and healthier products.”
Figures show that 509 pubs closed in 2023, with the loss of 6,000 jobs – a higher number than in 2021 and 2022.
However, health professionals have welcomed the proposals. Dr Layla McCay, of the NHS Confederation, said: “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, 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”.
