Aug. 29 (UPI) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that talks are under way to strengthen anti-smoking rules where some outdoor locations may become off limits for tobacco use.
Outdoor areas that could be covered in the new ban could include places where the public gathers such as outdoor restaurants, open-air pub gardens, sporting events and immediately outside of hospitals.
Health officials cite tobacco use as Britain’s biggest preventable cause of death, killing about two-thirds of long-term smokers and causing about 80,000 deaths annually.
“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,” Starmer said, according to Sky News. “It’s a huge burden on the NHS and of course on the taxpayer.”
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Tiem Industries Association said while everyone cares for better health outcomes, he argued that Britain does not have to become a “nanny state” to accomplish that, much less the economic cost to businesses.
“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,” Kill said.
“At a time when our industry desperately needs the freedom to trade, the last thing we need is further barriers.”
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, questioned if Starmer’s new government would be ready for the economic and political fallout that would result from such a ban, arguing that the banning of indoor smoking led the closure of pubs and other hospitality businesses around the country.