Reports suggest that Britain’s Labour government is becoming ‘spooked’ about its plans to ban outdoor smoking in the beer gardens of public houses. This follows warnings from the hospitality industry that the proposed crackdown could cause job losses and pub closures.
Initially, the measure was presented as a public health initiative to save money and lives. According to prime minister Keir Starmer in August:
My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking. That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayer.
Pub trade insiders were immediately concerned that this would make their already struggling businesses even less attractive to prospective customers, who are already staying home in large numbers. Second, the ‘public health’ science behind the idea seemed nonsensical, as outdoor spaces have greater ventilation than would be needed inside licensed premises—if smoking was still permitted inside.
Whereas currently many pubs and nightclubs have designated outdoor smoking areas, or at least improvised ones, leaked government documents from August suggested that lighting up could also be banned outside hospitals, sports stadiums and children’s parks.
Former Night-Time Industries Associations chairman Alan D. Miller welcomed the reported shift, posting
Challenging impositions needs to continue—whether that be free speech or decisions made by adults that elected representatives have no business interfering in
The optimism about the change of direction is based on the new law not being included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was set out in Labour’s post-election King’s Speech. Yet the authoritarian ambitions for British citizens’ lifestyles remain, with the leak regarding pub gardens policy coinciding with a government ban on the sale of disposable vapes.
