UK government mulling crackdown on outdoor smoking. Pubs are unhappy

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed Thursday that his government is looking at introducing tougher anti-smoking measures, which could potentially see a ban on smoking in outdoor spaces, including at pubs and restaurants.

His confirmation came after the Sun newspaper said a ban on smoking outside in pub gardens, outdoors in pubs and restaurants, and outside facilities such as hospitals, universities and sports grounds, was under discussion.

The prospect was widely criticized by hospitality bosses, who said it would be an overreach of the state and another potential blow to their finances.

Smoking in the U.K. has been banned inside pubs, restaurants and most workplaces since 2007. Still, smoking-related illnesses remain a drain on the National Health Service, costing it over 2.5 billion pounds a year in England alone, according to figures from the NHS.

“My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking,” Starmer said in Paris while visiting French President Emmanuel Macron. “So, yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed, but this is a preventable series of deaths and we’ve got to take action to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer.”

Starmer’s Labour government, which was elected in July, has already said it will reintroduce the former Conservative administration’s legislation to outlaw the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 2009. Under that plan, which didn’t become law because the election was called early, the legal age that people in England can buy cigarettes will be raised by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the health charity Action on Smoking and Health, or ASH, said the priority for the government has to be bringing back that bill to severely reduce smoking among the next generation.

“ASH would support the inclusion of powers to extend smoke-free laws outdoors, subject to consultation,” she said. “However, it’s also important to ensure that there are still outdoor areas where people who smoke can smoke in the open air, rather than inside their homes.”

Scores of countries around the world have banned smoking in indoor environments, and many have extended those bans outdoors, though not necessarily to bars and restaurants.

The number of people who smoke in the U.K. has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people in the country — or about 13% of the population — still smoke, according to official figures. In 2007, the legal age of sale for tobacco was raised from 16 to 18 alongside the smoking ban indoors.

While health professionals broadly welcomed the prospect of a smoking ban outdoors, others argued that it is an unnecessary intrusion by the state on people’s lifestyle choices and another potential burden on businesses still struggling to recoup the losses during the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which raised operating costs and depressed sales.

The number of pub closures increased to 80 per month over the first three months of 2024, up by 51% compared with the same period last year, according to official data for England and Wales.

“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,” said Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association.

Clive Watson, pub entrepreneur and chairman of Inda pub group, said it’s a “bonkers” idea that “will encourage customers to stay at home, meaning there is no health upside.”