Smoking could be banned in seating areas outside pubs and restaurants under new proposal

It comes after a Government-commissioned review last year recommended a ban on smoking outside any premises that sell food and drink to ensure hospitality is smoke-free

Ministers are being urged to ban smoking from outdoor hospitality seating areas on pavements outside pubs and restaurants. Councillors at more than a dozen authorities have demanded the clampdown in a bid to help people quit smoking.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay and Levelling Up, housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove have come under pressure to consider the move after councillors representing 16 London authorities penned a letter urging them to introduce the new rule, the Sun reported.

The ban would be introduced as an amendment to the Levelling Up Bill, tabled by Lord Young of Cookham. “There is a clear consensus among the public that outdoor eating and drinking areas should be free from cigarette smoke," he told the newspaper. “This is also much more practical for businesses and councils who want clear rules that are straightforward to communicate. A national smokefree pavement licence condition would protect public health, particularly child health, while cutting red tape for councils.”

A Government-commissioned review last year recommended a ban on smoking outside any premises that sell food and drink to ensure hospitality is smoke-free. Another proposal included increasing the age limit for buying cigarettes in England, currently set at 18, by 12 months every year until nobody can legally purchase a tobacco product.

The review was carried out by former children's charity chief Javed Khan, who was tasked with finding ways England could reach its target of being smoke-free by 2030. It found that England will currently miss the 2030 target to be smokefree, which means fewer than 5% of the county will be a smoker, by at least seven years and the poorest areas in society will not meet this target until 2044.

Five local authorities banned smoking in pavement pubs, cafes and restaurants in 2021. It came after the Covid pandemic forced many more revellers, including children, to be forced to dine in outdoor seating areas.

Northumberland county council, Durham, North Tyneside, Newcastle and the City of Manchester took the step to enforce smoke-free outdoor seating areas in hospitality venues. Oxfordshire was also due to enforce the plan, making it the first county set to ban smoking in outdoor areas including workplace break spots.

Some 62% of the public support making outdoor seating areas of all restaurants, pubs and cafes smokefree, according to polling published last year by campaign group Action on Smoking and Health. A ban on smoking in enclosed public places was introduced in England in 2007.

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