Labour wants to go further than the Tories in their plan to cut smoking (Picture: Getty)
The Labour government could drop the ban on smoking in pub gardens after opposition from the hospitality industry.
Plans to reduce the 80,000 annual smoking deaths by outlawing it outside restaurants, hospitals, nightclubs and universities were leaked earlier this year.
But pub bosses criticised it as ‘bonkers’ and ‘nuts’, saying it would cause job losses and closures in an industry that’s already adjusted to a ban on indoor smoking in 2007.
Tom Bott, founder of London-based beer brewer Signature Brew, said: ‘Independent breweries and pubs, which rely heavily on creating welcoming outdoor spaces for all customers, are facing unprecedented challenges.
‘Legislation like this, without adequate consideration of its economic impact, risks further destabilising an industry already under immense pressure.
‘We need support, not more obstacles, to ensure our long-term prosperity.’
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Associationy, asked: ‘Are we on the brink of becoming a nanny state? What is next?’
Despite reportedly not wanting to be swayed by such ‘nanny state’ accusations, Keir Starmer’s government appears to be watering down the Tobacco and Vapes bill, The Guardian reports.
One Downing Street official said: ‘It is an unserious policy. Nobody really believes smoking outdoors is a major health problem.’
However, a government source said no decision on removing the outdoor smoking ban has been made at this stage.
The bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament before Christmas, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling it ‘more ambitious’ than a bill put forward by the previous Conservative government.
That proposal sought to gradually raise the legal age for buying tobacco in order to prevent anyone born after January 1, 2009, from legally smoking.
Labour has also announced it will ban the sale of disposable vapes in England from June 2025.
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