Labour’s outside smoking ban may see one in eight pubs shut

Labour‘s ‘authoritarian’ clampdown on outdoor smoking could shut one in eight pubs, ministers were warned last night.

Sir Keir Starmer was facing a growing backlash after he confirmed plans to ban smoking in pub gardens, sports grounds and other outdoor venues.

The Prime Minister said the Government was going to ‘take decisions in this space’ in order to reduce the burden of smoking-related illness on the NHS.

But critics warned the draconian plan would be a hammer blow to the struggling hospitality sector – and said there was little evidence that it would reduce smoking rates.

Leaked documents reveal ministers are considering a ban on smoking in a wide range of outdoor settings, including beer gardens, outdoor restaurants and cafes.

Pavement smoking outside these venues will also be banned, as will smoking outside nightclubs.

University campuses, hospitals and even parks will also face restrictions. Ministers are weighing up whether to apply the ban to vaping.

The restrictions will be added to existing legislation that will ban anyone aged 15 and under from ever being able to legally smoke by raising the legal age for buying cigarettes by one year, every year.

The hospitality sector warned it could repeat the impact of the 2007 ban on indoor smoking, which is said to have contributed to the closure of some 7,000 hospitality venues across the following decade.

Tory analysis suggested the new ban could see one in eight pubs close, leading to the loss of a further 5,754.

Party health spokesman Victoria Atkins said the Tories supported broader plans to reduce smoking but added: ‘Stopping adults smoking in the open air was not part of our plans, nor was putting our hospitality sector and our pub trade at risk.’

Former science minister George Freeman said: ‘An outright ban on smoking outside pubs won’t help public health, but it will hit our fragile rural pubs and economies hard.’

Chris Jowsey, chief executive of Admiral Taverns, which runs 1,600 pubs, said: ‘I just can’t see how this will improve health outcomes if you move people from smoking in a pub garden to smoking at home.’

Sir Keir suggested he would turn his back on Labour’s ‘nanny state’ traditions when he became PM. But speaking in Paris yesterday, he said: ‘My starting point is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking.

‘It’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it’s a burden on the taxpayer. So, yes, we are going to take decisions in this space.’

A snap YouGov poll yesterday showed voters would back a ban in pub gardens by a margin of 58 to 35.

Tobacco duty raises £9billion a year for the Treasury – but smoking costs health services £3.6billion, and the wider economy about £13billion, according to Department of Health estimates.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Labour was ‘showing its ‘state control instincts’. Writing in the Telegraph, he added: ‘I expect the anti-alcohol debate… to pick up pace over the coming years.’

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said the plans would cause ‘serious harm’ to the sector.

It has also caused unease among Labour’s ranks, with some blaming the PM’s controversial chief of staff Sue Gray. One MP described it as ‘another step by the smart alec middle designed to attack working class culture’.

But backing the idea, Deborah Arnott at Action on Smoking and Health said the Government ‘is catching up with what the public expects’.

An angry punter took aim at Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘aggressive’ plans to ban smoking in pub gardens saying: ‘You’ll be paying for fresh air next.’

Glynis Essex, 68, was defiant as she told the premier she was ‘still going to smoke’ even if the Labour government enforces tougher rules.

Sitting outside a pub in Newcastle clutching a glass half-full of beer in her hand, the retired nursery nurse accused Sir Keir of not wanting people to have a life and asked: ‘What is wrong with the man?’

Glynis, who has COPD, a severe lung disease, told MailOnline: ‘What else is Keir going to do to cripple us all? You’ll be paying for fresh air soon.

‘We’ve already had it barred from the pubs and it’s the cigarette taxes that keep the country going. Does he not want people to have a life? He’s clamping down on everything.’

Restaurant terraces, shisha bars and pavements beside universities and hospitals are also expected to be made smoke-free zones – as the new Labour government cracks down even harder than Rishi Sunak planned.

But it was Glynis who echoed the sentiments of the many smokers we spoke with.

‘Does he [Sir Keir] not want people to have a life?,’ she said. ‘Seriously, he’s clamping down on everything. He’s already taken my £200 heating allowance away. There’s only me on my own, I’ve got no support.’

She added: ‘Why are you taking all of my privileges away and spoiling my life, my enjoyment?

‘Because that is all I’ve got: this [pub] and my cigarettes.’

Many defiant smokers refused to stop lighting up and accused the ‘nanny state’ Government of taking away people’s freedom. But others, including smokers, said it could give those who are addicted the ‘nudge’ they need to quit.

Meanwhile, millennials hit out at plans to ban outdoor smoking – even if they’ve never touched a cigarettes themselves.

The masses spoke out after hearing nightclub smoking areas could soon be a distant memory, and looked back on past times with a smile.

Many hailed the designated areas as a spot where lifelong friendships began and others said it was there that they caught the eye of the love of their life.

They say memories of nightclub smoking areas are something they hold dear, but the busy spots could soon be a thing of the past. 

Millennials have told of their happiest memories in the smoky spots – as they slammed the talks of them being snuffed out.

Taking to social media in the wake of the news, Brits – including some who have never smoked in their lives – defended the outdoorareas.

Many said they’d met their current wives and husbands while having a cigarette outside, while others said they’d popped out to get a break from inside met pals they’ve now had for years.

And while the areas are for smoking, a heap of revellers fessed up to heading out just for a ‘chit chat’.

One man shared a photo from his wedding on X, formerly Twitter, with red Xs through five of the seven people – including his wife – pictures.

He captioned it: ‘Here’s my grooms party if the smoking area ban had existed a decade ago.’

Many echoed such tales.

Another person wrote: ‘People have literally met their future wives/husbands in the smoking areas, including people who don’t smoke.’

Others joked a nightclub smoking area ‘is where dreams come alive’ and it was where ‘people have utopian conversations about putting the world to rights’.

One person said: ‘RIP to nightclub smoking areas, where the best memories are made. And I don’t even smoke.’

‘No smoking outside nightclubs is insane. Night club smoking area is the best part of going out – even for non smokers – as it’s the centre of the conversation away from the noise,’ another added.

‘I don’t smoke, I’ve never smoked. But I love a smoking area on a night out.

‘It’s the best place for good chats, phone signal and eardrum rest,’ one man echoed.