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How Keir Starmer’s pub garden smoking ban would work
A ban on smoking in pub gardens and other outdoor spaces is being considered by Labour, Keir Starmer has confirmed, as he says the “burden” smoking places on the NHS is too high.
The ban would extend to small parks, as well as areas outside of nightclubs, hospitals and sports venues. While health bodies have responded well to the move, many in the hospitality industry has said it will negatively impact their businesses.
It is likely the proposals could be included in the government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill, first introduced by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government.
This is the piece of legislation that will gradually phase out cigarettes by banning them for future generations. It will make it so that, if the rules were implemented by 2027, anyone aged 14 and under now will never be able to buy a cigarette.
If implemented, the outdoor smoking ban would make it an offence for people to smoke in certain spaces such as pub gardens or outside sports venues.
Should it be enforced in the same way as the 2007 indoor smoking ban, smoking in certain outdoor spaces would carry a Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £150. If you refuse to pay this, you are liable to be prosecuted.
According to Action on Smoking Health (ASH), the 2007 ban led to a 2.4 percent reduction in hospital admissions for heart attacks, and a 12.3 percent reduction in admissions for childhood asthma.
Courts can also impose fines of up to £2500 on businesses who don’t take reasonable steps to prevent smoking in the workplace, such as adequate signs. If smoking is banned outdoors, they may also need to ensure that the new law is followed.
Source: The Independent, 3 September 2024
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Labour pledges to tackle the 'scourge of vaping' - as more young people take up the habit
Labour will 'tackle the scourge of vaping' once it has clamped down on smoking, a senior minister said yesterday.
Vaping has been promoted by the NHS as a tool for helping smokers kick the habit. But Commons Leader Lucy Powell yesterday suggested that it was next in line for restrictions.
Industry leaders have warned the proposed plans to ban outdoor smoking in some settings, including beer gardens and outside stadiums, could add to the challenges facing the hospitality sector. Some estimates suggest one in eight pubs could close as a result.
Ms Powell told Sky News the controversial plan was necessary to help reduce the 80,000 annual deaths from smoking-related illnesses. 'We're certainly not attacking the hospitality industry,' she said. 'We support the hospitality industry.
Ministers have declined to comment in detail on leaked proposals suggesting that a crackdown on outdoor smoking could also be applied to vaping.
But Ms Powell suggested that vaping will face restrictions in time. 'We also want to tackle the scourge of vaping, which is a real blight for many young people,' she said.
It comes after Britain's biggest doctors' union demanded a total ban on disposable vapes to protect children. The British Medical Association has called on the Government to take 'bold and brave actions' as it warns of a 'growing epidemic' of vaping.
Dr Penelope Toff, chairman of the BMA's public health medicine committee, called on the Government 'to go even further' than the plans outlined by Rishi Sunak and described the report as a blueprint for action.
Source: Daily Mail, 1 September 2024
Editorial note: The analysis cited in the article which claims that one in eight pubs could be forced to close as a result of the outdoor smoking ban is based on faulty analysis of the impact of smokefree legislation in 2007. Mark Easton, BBC home editor analysed similar claims made by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) back in 2009 and found that the number of premises with licenses to sell alcohol actually increased by 4,200 following smokefree legislation. This reflected a shift in the pub industry as the number of drink-only pubs declined and the number of pubs serving food increased. Easton also cited survey findings from the ONS showing that pubs were more popular following the ban than before the ban. See the full analysis here: Pubs aren't dying - they are evolving
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Vaping ban in indoor public places being looked at by ministers
Ministers are looking at a ban on vaping indoors amid the wider planned crackdown on nicotine products, i understands.
According to Whitehall sources, MPs and charities have pushed the Government to include a curtailment on places where people can vape, as Sir Keir Starmer looks to bring a bill in the coming months on tobacco and vaping.
On Thursday, Starmer confirmed that the Government was considering plans to bring in a new ban on smoking in spaces such as pub gardens and football stadiums.
“My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking,” he told broadcasters.
Alongside the smoking plans, i understands that a ban on vaping indoors in public places is also being looked into, as part of a range of policies surrounding vaping in the bill.
One stakeholder told i that the changes would “rationalise” rules around vaping, which are currently discretionary for venues, and would bring policies around vaping in line with other European countries such as Hungary and Greece.
In a statement to i, the Department for Health refused to be drawn on whether indoor vaping in public spaces would be banned.
A spokesperson said: “We do not comment on leaks. Smoking claims 80,000 lives a year, puts huge pressure on our NHS, and costs taxpayers billions.
“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the harms of second-hand smoking.
“We’re considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.”
Source: The i, 31 August 2024
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House of Lords debate on Vaping Products: Usage by Children
On Monday 2nd September, Lord Storey led a short debate on the question: to ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address the number of children using vaping products. Several peers participated in the debate and raised concerns about the marketing and availability of vapes to young people. Responding for the government, Baroness Merron Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, set out the government’s plans to tackle youth vaping and stated that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill would be introduced “very soon”.
See here a transcript of the debate and the House of Lords library briefing on “Government plans to address children vaping”,
Source: Hansard, 2 September 2024
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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