U-Turn in Proposed U.K. Pub Garden Vaping Ban

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was considering a ban on outdoor smoking in a bid to bring down the 80,000 preventable deaths caused by smoking in the U.K. each year.

The ban would have covered smoking in outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs, and in some small parks.

The government announced plans to make it illegal to vape outside schools and in children’s playgrounds in England.

They also want to ban vaping and smoking outside of hospitals and have said that some outdoor places could become vape-free.

But speaking to Sky News this morning, Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, confirmed the U-turn and said: “We’re not going ahead or not proposing to go ahead with a [smoking] ban on outdoor hospitality.”

He said the policy idea was a “leak of government discussion” over the summer and promoted a “really good debate about whether or not it would be proportionate” when taking into account the public health benefits, but also the potential downsides.

“I think people know the UK hospitality sector has taken a battering in recent years,” he added. “And we don’t want to add to their pressure – so we’re not proposing to go ahead with an outdoor hospitality ban at this time.”