British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated that he wants to take new measures to combat smoking, which according to the press include a ban on smoking on restaurant terraces and outside football stadiums. Keir Starmer indicated in July that he would resume the very ambitious anti-smoking policy of his predecessor Rishi Sunak. According to this plan, young people under the age of fifteen today will never be legally sold cigarettes.
According to the tabloid The Sun, the government also wants to ban smoking in many public spaces. According to this plan, it would no longer be possible to light a cigarette in pub gardens, on restaurant terraces, outside nightclubs, football stadiums, on the sidewalks near universities and hospitals, in certain parks, etc. Asked about this information, Keir Starmer, who is visiting Paris, confirmed to journalists that he wanted to take new measures in this direction.
“We will be making decisions on this, more details will be revealed,” he said. “More than 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking,” the prime minister said. “These are preventable deaths, a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, a burden on the taxpayer,” he added. The plan has been welcomed by health professionals but strongly criticised by pubs, a sector that has been struggling in recent years. “It is very concerning,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, as she urged the government to “reconsider” its plans. “Such restrictions would have a devastating impact on pubs that are already struggling with soaring energy prices and the huge cost of doing business,” she added.
