Smoking ban in pub gardens and outdoor venues being considered due to ‘huge burden’ on NHS, Starmer says
A ban on smoking in pub gardens and other outdoor venues is being considered because of the “huge burden” smoking puts on the NHS and the taxpayer, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed.
The prime minister said ministers were looking at banning smoking in other places too, including outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs and in some small parks.
Sir Keir confirmed the proposal on Thursday following a leaked report seen by The Sun newspaper.
He said: “My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year to smoking, that’s a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and of course on the taxpayer.
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Smoking ban in pub gardens and outdoor venues being considered, says PM
“So, yes we are going to take decisions in this space. More details will be revealed but this is a preventable cause of deaths and we’ve got to take the action to reduce the burden on the NHS and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.”
The plan has been welcomed by health campaigners who believe the measure would help protect people from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
But the proposal has drawn heavy criticism from others, with accusations of the government imposing on people’s freedoms and being the “final nail in the coffin” of the hospitality industry.
The prime minister was asked about possible smoking bans while on a visit to France. Pic: PA
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “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 said many of the 6.4 million people who smoke in the UK “enjoy doing so in social settings like beer gardens”.
“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,” he added.
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Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said a ban could cause “serious economic harm to hospitality venues” as she cited the “significant” number of pub closures after smoking was banned indoors in 2007 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 2006 in Scotland.
She said it would also affect hotels, cafes and restaurants and called on the government to talk to the hospitality industry before any laws are passed.
“It must also assess whether such a ban would achieve its aims of meaningfully reducing smoking or simply relocate smoking elsewhere, such as in the home,” she added.
A number of Conservative MPs also spoke out against the plan, despite their own plans to curb smoking for younger people, with shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins posting on X: “We want to protect our children from taking up smoking and vaping. Our smoke-free generation legislation was designed to do that.
“Stopping adults from smoking in the open air, however, was not part of our plans. Labour is putting our hospitality sector at risk in the process.”
Reform leader Nigel Farage also told one newspaper he would “never go to the pub again if outdoor smoking was banned”.
But the chief executive of Action on Smoking Health (ASH) Deborah Arnott said: “The priority is to get the bill back in parliament and put on the statute book, to end smoking for the next generation and curb youth vaping.
“ASH would support the inclusion of powers to extend smoke-free laws outdoors, subject to consultation.”
“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.”
Read more:
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Legal age should rise by a year every year
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “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 the harms of second-hand smoking.
“We’re considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.”
A smoking ban inside of pubs and other enclosed public spaces and work places was brought in by Labour in 2007.
According to ASH, in the year after the new law was imposed, there was a 2.4% reduction in hospital admissions for heart attacks and a 12.3% reduction in hospital admissions for childhood asthma.
Rishi Sunak after he led his party to a landslide election defeat. Pic: PA
This Labour government has previously said it would resurrect Rishi Sunak’s flagship smoking ban, which was shelved before the election.
The King’s speech at July’s opening of Parliament promised to reintroduce the legislation to increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes progressively.
Under the proposed smoking ban, a 14-year-old today will never legally be able to buy a cigarette.
In the speech, Labour also laid out plans to impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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