Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defends controversial plans to tighten laws around smoking ban.
Labour 's 'authoritarian' clampdown on outdoor smoking could shut one in eight pubs, ministers were warned last night.
Leaked documents reveal ministers are considering a ban on smoking in a wide range of outdoor settings, including beer gardens, outdoor restaurants and cafes. Mr Farage said he expects 'the anti-alcohol debate to pick up over the coming years'. Pictured: Nigel Farage smoking a cigarette outside a pub Party health spokesman Victoria Atkins said the Tories supported broader plans to reduce smoking but added: 'Stopping adults smoking in the open air was not part of our plans, nor was putting our hospitality sector and our pub trade at risk.'
'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.' Tobacco duty raises £9billion a year for the Treasury – but smoking costs health services £3.6billion, and the wider economy about £13billion, according to Department of Health estimates.
But backing the idea, Deborah Arnott at Action on Smoking and Health said the Government 'is catching up with what the public expects'. Angry punter Glynis Essex, 68, has taken aim at Sir Keir Starmer's 'aggressive' plans to ban smoking in pub gardens saying: 'You'll be paying for fresh air next' Restaurant terraces, shisha bars and pavements beside universities and hospitals are also expected to be made smoke-free zones - as the new Labour government cracks down even harder than Rishi Sunak planned.
Meanwhile, millennials hit out at plans to ban outdoor smoking - even if they've never touched a cigarettes themselves. Many hailed the designated areas as a spot where lifelong friendships began and others said it was there that they caught the eye of the love of their life. Many said they'd met their current wives and husbands while having a cigarette outside, while others said they'd popped out to get a break from inside met pals they've now had for years.
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