Smoking in beer gardens could be BANNED amid radical new proposals to stop Brits picking up butts

SMOKING could be banned in outdoor beer gardens as part of a radical new plan to help Brits kick the habit.

The proposal is part of an independent review of tobacco led by Dr. Javed Khan OBE, who also wants the legal smoking age to increase every year until nobody can buy them anymore.

3

The report, released this morning, aims to “increase the number of smoke-free places to make smoking the social norm”.

It is argued that despite the 2007 smoking ban in pub gardens and sidewalk cafes across the country, children and families are still exposed to secondhand smoke.

It added: “Worse, some outlets have developed ‘smoking shelters’ so extreme that, while technically within the law, they offer staff and customers next to no protection from the toxic smoke.

“In fact, for many hookah bars this is a fundamental part of their business model.”

dr Khan added: “Increasing smoke-free spaces in hospitality, hospital campuses and outside public spaces while protecting non-smokers in public housing is the natural next step.

“I would like local authorities in England to go further and ban smoking in all outdoor areas where there are children.

“For example, public beaches and public office premises (central and local government buildings) should all be completely non-smoking places.”

Around six million people smoke in England – and tobacco remains the largest single cause of preventable disease and death.

And Downing Street has not ruled out the introduction of a smoking ban in beer gardens, saying the government-mandated smoking review will be “carefully considered”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I will not jump ahead and start commenting on various recommendations, this is detailed work that needs to be carefully considered and then we will present our view.”

BEHIND

dr Khan also listed a series of dramatic recommendations to make the country smoke-free by 2030.

This also means that smokers are not allowed to smoke in their church building.

The proposal also proposes investing £125m a year in “action to achieve smoke-free status by 2030”, £70m for smoking cessation services and a further £15m to improve enforcement of illicit tobacco for local trade standards.

Other proposals include raising the age limit for selling tobacco by one year per year, significantly increasing the cost and introducing a license for retailers to limit tobacco availability.

The review also recommended a campaign to promote anti-smoking messages, in which all films, TV shows and online media featuring tobacco “display an on-screen health warning while such images are visible.”

Recent data also shows that an estimated one in four deaths from all types of cancer – including lung cancer, throat cancer and acute myeloid leukemia – is linked to smoking.

What are the recommendations?

• To raise the age at which a Brit can smoke by one year every year – so that at some point nobody will be allowed to buy a pack
• For coloring cigarettes green or brown
• To tag each with the specific number of “Life Minutes Lost”.
• Ban films showing smokers before the 9pm watershed
• To give all new movies with smoke scenes a rating of 18
• Ban people living in social housing from smoking in their own homes
• Ban lighting in beer gardens and other public places
• Raising the price of a pack by 30 percent overnight

dr Khan said: “A smoke-free society should be a social norm – but to achieve that we need to do more to discourage people from starting to smoke, to help those who are already smoking and to support those who are disproportionately heavy.” are affected by smoking.

“My proposals are not only a plan for this government, but also for subsequent governments. To truly achieve a smoke-free society in our great country, we must work to make smoking obsolete once and for all.”

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “Javed Khan’s report represents an ambitious vision, combining a call for government to increase investment in tobacco control with tougher regulations, both are essential to achieve a smoke-free year in 2030.

“That’s also what the public wants – research by YouGov, commissioned by ASH to provide evidence for the review, shows a sizeable majority support stronger government interventions to combat smoking.

3

3