Smoking ban: Would an outdoor smoking ban kill the ‘Great British pub’?

The ‘Great British pub’ is an experience sought out by visitors to the UK and locals alike. But could an outdoor smoking ban lead to the closure of pubs.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed he is considering introducing a ban on smoking in pub gardens and other outdoor areas.

The ban would include small parks and outside spaces at nightclubs, sports venues and hospitals.

The PM said: “My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking. That's a preventable death. It's a huge burden on the NHS, and of course, it's a burden on the taxpayer. So yes, we are going to take decisions in this space.

“I think it's important to get the balance right, but everybody watching this who uses the NHS will know that it's on its knees. We have to relieve the burden, and that's why I spoke before the election about moving to a preventative model when it comes to health. I want the NHS back on its feet, but I also want it fit for the next 75 years, just as we've had a brilliant 75 years already, and that means taking action in relation to preventable deaths.”

Would an outdoor smoking ban damage the hospitality industry?

Ash Corbett-Collins, Vice-Chairman of Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), says an outdoor smoking ban could stop smokers and non-smokers socialising in pubs - which may lead to people drinking at home instead.

He said: “If the government is considering this as a measure, we would want them to do a fully evidenced consultation with the industry to understand exactly how it might impact footfall. There's every potential it will reduce it, which obviously would be devastating for a sector that is still recovering from lockdown and some of the other issues that they've experienced over the last few years. And so we'd want any kind of consideration to be taken to support the industry, and if it is going to have a negative impact, to actually not go ahead with measures that would do that. 

“If we saw a blind kill or a quite draconian smoking ban outdoors, that would have a huge impact in what people choose to do, the friendship groups that they have, and what people choose to do for entertainment in the evening. If you're a mixed group, and several of you are smokers and some of you aren't, at the moment you go down the pub, you can sit in the garden together, and that's great. If we saw things like the smoking ban for outdoors come out, the big danger is people would choose to not go to the pub because they can't partake in something they want to and they could then choose to drink at home.”