Hospitality chiefs concern UK on ‘brink of nanny state’ over smoking ban

Hospitality bosses today admitted having major concerns over Sir Keir Starmer‘s ‘nanny state’ outdoor smoking ban that could see punters barred from lighting up in pub gardens, near football grounds and even outside nightclubs.

Pavements beside universities and hospitals are also expected to be made smoke-free zones – with shisha bars also facing the axe, as the new Labour government cracks down on cigarettes even more strictly than Rishi Sunak planned.

A snap MailOnline poll shows three quarters of people disagree with the ban, while Britain’s beleaguered hospitality sector declared today: ‘The last thing we need is further barriers.’

Secret Whitehall documents outlining the idea, leaked to the Sun, have been blasted by hospitality leaders and MPs including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage who forecast: ‘It will be the end of pubs.’   

Michael Kill, the chief executive of the Night Time Industry Association, told MailOnline today that Mr Starmer’s plot to ban outdoor smoking has ‘understandably caused concern across the sector’.

He added: ‘Although smoking rates have seen a significant decline, many have switched to vaping – a trend that, according to these leaks, may also fall under new regulatory scrutiny.

‘This raises the critical question: Are we on the brink of becoming a nanny state? What is next? While these measures may rightly be driven by public health considerations, they risk dividing opinion and imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges. 

‘At a time when our industry desperately needs the freedom to trade, the last thing we need is further barriers.’ 

Mr Kill continued: ‘As we consider the implications of these potential restrictions, we must question whether such an approach is truly in the public interest, or whether it risks over-regulation at the cost of personal freedom and business viability.’

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, echoed Mr Kill’s fears over an outdoor smoking ban.

Speaking on LBC this morning, she said: ‘Obviously we haven’t seen the full details of any of these proposals. We are only going on what is being published in the papers, but it is a huge degree of concern, what is being outlined and the areas that are being covered. 

‘This wouldn’t just affect pub gardens, as you said at the start. It’s also restaurant areas. It’s the cafes. It’s the high streets. It’s the seating that’s outside those areas. 

‘So where there’s been a heavy investment made in the period post-Covid into creating those outside areas, which have brought so much light and life to our town centres and high streets, and this would be a very significant impact on those customers that use those areas, both smokers and non smokers.’

Ms Nicholls said while there are clearly health benefits from the ban of smoking indoors, it’s ‘not the same in an outdoor area’  where there isn’t the ‘same prevalence of passive smoking concerns.’

She added: ‘There are impacts that will be felt for [smokers], and if they can’t smoke in outdoor areas, and it’s not clear where they would be able to smoke under these new proposals, you will see more people smoking at home. You will see fewer people going out.’

Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ rights group Forest (Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco), told MailOnline: ‘Smoking bans must be evidence based and there is no evidence that smoking in the open air is a significant threat to the health of non-smokers. The indoor smoking ban did enormous damage to the pub industry. 

‘Extending the ban to beer gardens could force many more pubs to close. If the government extends the smoking ban to outdoor areas, Britain will no longer be a nanny state. 

‘We will have crossed a line and become a bully state where people could be fined and punished merely for lighting a cigarette outside a pub or in a park.’

Tom Stainer, head of Campaign for Real Ale, said that although the ban is unconfirmed, he would urge the government to prioritise reducing taxation on beer and reforming unfair business rates before instilling measures which could ‘encourage encourage more people to drink and smoke at home.’

When asked whether more pubs and nightclubs could close, he said: ‘Without seeing an evidenced impact assessment, it would be difficult to know – however my gut feel is in the short term you’d see a drop in customers, if such a measure was taken, which would naturally have a negative effect on already struggling businesses.’

Sacha Lord, the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, told MailOnline it was too early to make a judgment before full plans are outlines. 

He added: ‘I’m sure we all want to prevent children suffering the health consequences of passive smoking and if the plans predominantly focus on areas where and when children are present then I would wholeheartedly agree and support.

‘However, I understand the concern around the potential ban in pub gardens and for shisha bars in particular, both of which are often the hubs of the communities they serve and I would encourage policy makers to publish full details quickly to stave off any misunderstandings that may have arisen from this leak.’

And Alison Boutoille, founder of CityStack, said: ‘While the smoking ban makes sense as a measure to reduce smoking, it is yet another constraint for small businesses, particularly pubs, which are already navigating one of the toughest economic periods in recent history. 

‘The decrease in revenue, caused by customers tightening their budgets, coupled with rising costs, presents a significant challenge to keeping hospitality businesses afloat.

‘Not to mention the massive staff shortage disruptions (it was already volatile post the Covid pandemic, but it has become markedly worse).

‘The initial smoking ban in 2007 already had a profound impact on the sector, and now hundreds of pubs are closing every year. This will not help pubs attract the footfall they desperately need to keep their businesses running.’

The plans would reportedly come under a bill that was first introduced by former Conservative Prime Minister Mr Sunak – which was a plan to phase out all smoking. But the King’s Speech delivered after Labour won July’s general election made no mention of an outdoor ban.

People would still be allowed to smoke in their own homes and large open spaces, like streets and parks.  But other locations are said to be grey areas and still under discussion – including beaches and enclosed, popular parks.

The report also mentions vape-free zones, although it is unclear whether the ban could also include e-cigarettes. 

As reports emerged over a possible outdoor smoking ban, MPs quickly condemned the move.

Reform MP Rupert Lowe wrote on X: ‘A ban on smoking in pub gardens? More intrusion into people’s lives. It happens slowly, and then accelerates with freedom evaporating. If people want to smoke in a pub garden, let them. There is much, much more of this to come. Stop treating us like children.’

Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick added: ‘The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing. Our country faces huge challenges. Why is Starmer focusing on this nonsense?’ 

And fellow contender Dame Priti Patel – a former tobacco lobbyist – slammed policies she branded ‘beyond stupid’.

She said: ‘Imposing nanny state regulation like this on pubs and restaurants would not only be wrong but economically damaging. 

‘These are small businesses, run by hardworking people, that provide jobs up and down the country. 

‘Labour is devoid of ideas and has no economic plan and is now reduced to nanny state policies to pacify their socialist base and take freedoms and choices away from the British people.

‘Asking the police to enforce this at a time when Starmer is releasing dangerous criminals onto our streets is beyond stupid, it borders on the negligent. 

‘This needs to be reversed immediately before it endangers both our retail sector and the safety of our streets.’ 

Anita Boateng, former Conservative special adviser, told the BBC: ‘It feels a very draconian step for people who are adults who can make decisions and who can legally smoke. The point is you are in an outside area of a pub garden in a walled off area. You don’t have to stand there if you don’t want to experience second-hand smoking.’

Simon Danczuk, former Labour MP, wrote on X: ‘Many hard working people enjoy a cigarette. There was a time when Labour MPs wouldn’t dream of banning cigs like this. Not now. The North London Labour elite know what’s best for us.’

Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader, told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’m going to have to look at the details. We’ve got to be careful in going over the top. But of course there’s a case for making sure we can encourage people to stop smoking. I actually supported that last government’s proposals on that when they were put to the vote. 

‘And in the King’s Speech the new government said it was going to continue those, and we backed that. This is a new idea. We’ll have a look at it, but I think there’s a balance – and I think the question is are they getting the balance right?’

Dr Layla McCay, of the NHS Confederation, said she was ‘obviously in favour of measures that help abolish smoking’.

She told BBC Radio 4: ‘It is absolutely the health challenge of our time. It’s the leading cause of preventable illness in the UK. So, we are heartened to see that progress is being made and that the intention is moving forward to really address one of Britain’s main drivers of health inequalities. 

‘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. 

‘So, it’s not surprising but in this journey there will be different types of decisions, and there will be hard decisions that need to be made. I think that, as a society, we do recognise that this is the right direction of travel, that has been very clear for many years.’

A recent impact assessment has even found that banning smoking outdoors could cost jobs and force even more pubs to close, the tabloid reports. 

It could spell the end of the shisha bar industry in the UK, which held more than 500 national locations in 2022.

And the policy could leave devastation in its wake for the hospitality industry – with a 2020 government release explicitly warning that banning cigarettes in pub gardens could ‘lead to significant closures and job losses’. 

But amid rising fears as to the effect cigarettes could have on the nation’s health, it is reported that the Prime Minister is set to press forward with the bill.

He is said to have the backing of Chief Medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, while ministers will argue that the economic benefits outweigh its potential costs. 

Ministers are expected to claim smoking costs £21.8billion in health spending. 

The original ban on indoor smoking, introduced across the UK by Tony Blair in 2007, was blamed by some for leading to the closure of pubs, particularly smaller ones that could not adapt. 

It follows more recent anti-smoking measures, such as a ban on methol cigarettes in 2020 and outlawing smoking in cars with children in 2015.  

A public consultation will be launched over the ban, but this is not expected to sway the radical plans.

It is unclear how far away from a location such as a pub or restaurant a smoker would have to walk before they could legally light up.

As many as 6.4million people smoke in the UK – 13 per cent of the country’s population.

The country has a target of becoming ‘smoke-free’ by 2030 – where only five per cent of the nation would have cigarettes. 

Labour will easily be able to get the ban through Parliament given its huge majority.

No Labour MPs voted against the Tories’ anti-smoking legislation in April.

It was opposed by 58 Conservatives including current leadership contenders Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick.

However many of the rebels including ex-PM Liz Truss are no longer in Parliament, further diminishing the likelihood of opposition to the revised legislation.

It comes just months after the House of Commons overwhelmingly approved the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, inching the government closer to enforcing in law that anyone born after January 1 2009 would never be able to legally buy cigarettes. 

If eventually passed, it would have meant that the age at which people can purchase cigarettes will be raised by one year annually. 

It was planned to give the Government powers to tackle youth vaping, with restrictions on flavours and new rules on packaging and selling vapes. 

Just last month, it was revealed there has been a 17 per cent surge in cases over the last two decades with the likes of liver, throat and kidney cancers doubling in this time, according to analysis by Cancer Research UK. 

While smoking rates are falling, the growing population means there are still around 6.4 million smokers in the UK. 

Data from the charity shows there were around 57,600 diagnoses of cancers caused by smoking in 2023, compared to 49,325 in 2003.

Tobacco is known to cause 16 different types of cancer, with lung cancer alone causing 33,000 cases annually.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson aid: ‘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 second-hand smoking. We’re considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.’   

Critics and MPs opposed to Rishi Sunak’s previous ‘nanny-state’ measures worried the move to create a smoke-free generation would backfire and cause a black market boom.

Some feared that health chiefs could eye up crackdowns on sugar, caffeine and alcohol next, calling the move a ‘slippery slope’.

Vocal nay-sayers included ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage and former PM Boris Johnson, who labelled the ban ‘absolutely nuts’.

Liz Truss, Johnson’s short-lived successor, also told the BBC: ‘We shouldn’t be telling people not to smoke and I worry about where it will lead.’

Maxwell Marlow, director of research at thinktank The Adam Smith Institute, also said the ban was ‘no way to govern a free society’.

He told MailOnline: ‘The public have not been properly asked whether they want their liberties to be infringed in this unprecedented manner.

‘This ban is a charter for criminals, who will sell far more dangerous products to the unsuspecting public, even those who smoke now.

‘This is a slippery slope, and gives rise to the valid concern that our public health bureaucrats will next seek to further regulate sugar, caffeine, and alcohol because they don’t believe that the British public is smart enough to understand the risks.

Responding to the ban’s backlash England’s chief medical officer rejected ‘pro-choice’ arguments.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty argued instead that cigarettes were a product ‘designed to take your choice away’. 

And health experts said the ‘bold announcement… positions the UK as world leading in tobacco control’ and would ‘save countless lives’.

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health president, Professor Steve Turner, said: ‘This is a major milestone towards realising the government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history.

‘Stopping children and young people from starting to smoke will decrease their chance of developing preventable disease later in life.

‘As paediatricians, we work day in and day out to support children’s health.

‘We are clear that children should not become addicted to nicotine and youth vaping must be tackled.

‘We now need MPs from across the new parliament to use the historic opportunity before them to support this bill when introduced and help protect our children’s and nations’ long-term health.’

Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, Dr Ian Walker, added: ‘The government’s commitment to introduce new legislation on smoking will have a hugely positive impact on the nation’s health.

‘Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in the UK and is responsible for 160 cancer cases per day.

‘By raising the age of sale for tobacco products, the government will help to prevent cancer, relieve pressures on the NHS and build a healthier future.

‘This bold announcement positions the UK as world leading in tobacco control. We now hope to see the legislation passed and implemented in full across the UK to help bring an end to cancers caused by smoking for good.’

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, also said: ‘Today’s announcement puts us in pole position to be the first country in the world to end smoking.

‘Smoking puts pressure on our NHS and social care system, but the greatest financial impact is the damage to our economy due to lost productivity.

‘The measures announced today will play a major role in helping government achieve its ambition to halve the difference in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions, and deliver productivity growth in every part of the country.’