Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed the government is looking at tougher rules on outdoor smoking to reduce the number of preventable deaths linked to tobacco use.
Responding to reports that smoking could be banned in some outdoor spaces, the prime minister said “we have got to take action” to reduce the burden it puts on the NHS.
Under new plans, smoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, and outside hospitals and sports grounds.
Health experts have welcomed the plans, but the BBC has been told that some ministers have raised concerns about the impact the ban could have on the hospitality sector.
Asked about the proposals, Sir Keir said the government was “going to take decisions in this space” and more details would be revealed.
“I think it’s important to get the balance right,” he said, adding that the NHS was “on its knees”.
The King’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament last month promised to reintroduce legislation proposed by the previous government, which would have outlawed the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 2009.
Any new ban would apply to England, but it is not yet clear if it would apply to the rest of the UK.
A Welsh government spokesperson said it would work jointly with the UK government when new smoking legislation is introduced.
The Scottish government says any proposals for restrictions in Scotland would need to be passed through the Scottish Parliament.
Health professionals have welcomed the proposals.
Dr Layla McCay of the NHS Confederation told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the plans would reduce “the huge problems that are caused to the individual and to society from smoking.”
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the public expected “not to have to breathe in tobacco smoke in places like children’s play areas and seating areas outside pubs, restaurants and cafés”.
But she added it was important to ensure that there were still outdoor areas for people to “smoke in the open air, rather than inside their homes”.
Some hospitality bosses have expressed concerns about the impact a ban could have on the sector.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UK Hospitality, told the Today programme: “This needs to be thought through very carefully before we damage businesses and economic growth and jobs.”
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said a ban would risk “imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges”.
But JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin said: “I don’t think it will have a big effect on our business, one way or another.”
The Conservative opposition, including leadership contenders, have criticised the proposals as over-regulation.
Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said the plans amounted to “nanny state regulation” that would be “economically damaging”.
Former Home Office Minister Robert Jenrick said: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the proposals as “government overreach on a scale that is utterly ridiculous”.
“Frankly, if they do this, it will be the death knell of the pub,” he told the BBC.
About 12.9% of people aged 18 and over in the UK – or about 6.4 million people – smoked cigarettes in 2022 according to the most recently available data from the Office for National Statistics.
That is the lowest proportion of current smokers since records began in 2011.
Those aged 25-34 age represent the highest proportion of smokers, while the lowest are those aged 65 and over.
In England alone, smoking caused an estimated 74,600 deaths in 2019, according to NHS England’s latest available data.
There were 408,700 hospital admissions in England due to smoking in 2022-23.