Pub garden smoking ban no longer in government plans

The government is to row back on plans to ban smoking in the gardens of pubs and restaurants in England.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he didn’t want to cause further harm to the hospitality industry, adding that “people don’t want to see their high streets going down the pan”.

But the government is considering plans to make it illegal to smoke in children’s playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals, although there is little detail on how that would be measured or policed.

The main focus of the updated Tobacco and Vapes Bill is to make it illegal for anyone currently aged 15 or under to ever buy cigarettes in the UK.

Streeting said he had discussions with the hospitality sector over the summer and decided not to go ahead with the outdoor pub ban on smoking.

“There are lots of things that we can and will do on public health that don’t impact on people’s liberties or people’s livelihoods,” he told the Today programme on Radio 4.

Under the new Bill, the government is instead considering extending smokefree legislation to outdoor areas such as playgrounds and hospital grounds in England, to protect children and the most vulnerable from the harms of second-hand smoke.

However, it’s not clear how that would work in practice.

Streeting suggested enforcing these outdoor bans could work in the same way as fines for fly tipping and anti-social behaviour.

“We will consult about the range at which the ban will apply but having enforcement officers going in and being able fine people for this activity I think will make a real difference,” he told BBC Breakfast.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is already an offence to smoke on NHS hospital grounds.

A ban on the sale of single-use disposable vapes from next June in England and Wales has already been announced.

With youth vaping on the rise, this move is aimed at clamping down on children getting hooked on nicotine by buying cheap, brightly-coloured vapes.

The government now has powers to restrict vape flavours, displays and packaging.

And it is considering banning vaping in some outdoor areas too, although this seems a much more tentative plan.

A licensing scheme for shops means all retailers would need a licence in order to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. On-the-spot fines of £200 for retailers could be handed out for those selling to under-18s or stocking unregulated products.

The vaping industry said it welcomed the move, adding it was “a victory for law-abiding businesses” and would “stop rogue traders in their tracks from selling to minors and establishing a lucrative black market”.

A registration system for retailers selling these products has been in place in Scotland since 2017.

All the proposals will all be open to public debate over the next six months.

Health charities have welcomed the bill.

Action on Smoking and Health said it would help create a country where young people would never start smoking.

The charity said the government now need to set out how it would help the UK’s six million smokers to quit.

“This will require a properly funded plan, paid for by a levy on tobacco companies,” said the charity’s chair, Prof Nick Hopkinson.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, British Heart Foundation chief executive, said she welcomed the government’s commitment to protect children and vulnerable people from second-hand smoke in schools, playgrounds and hospital grounds.

“We also welcome measures to make vaping less appealing to young people,” she said.