Keir Starmer’s outdoor smoking ban is “simply not worth it” and would have “little” health benefits, leading doctors warned today.
Under the crackdown, people could be banned from smoking in pub gardens, near football pitches and even outside nightclubs.
Pavements next to universities and hospitals, restaurant terraces and shisha bars are also expected to become smoke-free zones as the new Labour government takes even tougher measures than those planned by former prime minister Rishi Sunak.
But health experts told MailOnline that problems from second-hand smoke outdoors were “probably very low”.
A cancer specialist with more than 40 years’ experience told MailOnline: ‘I’m anti-smoking, as an oncologist I know the harm, but this is going too far.
Under the restrictive measures, customers could be banned from smoking in pub gardens, near football pitches and even outside nightclubs.
Professor Karol Sikora, former head of the World Health Organisation’s cancer programme, added: “Given the cost of implementing it and the cost to the hospitality industry, in terms of public health benefits, it’s just not worth it.”
He added that previous policies, including a ban on indoor smoking in 2007, had made a “huge difference” in reducing smoking rates.
However, this would not be replicated by a ban on outdoor activities by a “nanny state.”
“Not allowing smoking in public outdoor spaces is too much, exaggerated and impossible to control,” he said.
“And those who have decided that they are going to smoke, no matter what, are going to continue doing so anyway.”
He added that a person outdoors would have to be surrounded by “about 10 smokers” to have a substantially increased risk of health consequences from secondhand smoke.
Meanwhile, Dr Lion Shahab, a health psychology expert and co-director of the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at University College London, told MailOnline the likelihood of health problems from second-hand smoke outdoors was “probably very low”.
He said: ‘The intention with this legislation is probably not necessarily to reduce second-hand exposure, there will be some small effects but they will be quite low because of the wind blowing the smoke.
According to research platform Our World In Data, 13.7 percent of New Zealanders smoked in 2020 compared to 15.4 percent of Britons and 23 percent of Americans.
There will likely be some health benefits to not being exposed to outdoor smoke.
“But the benefit to be gained will probably be less than in closed spaces (with the smoking ban).”
However, Dr Shahab concluded: ‘The main impact will be the change in norms of smoking behaviour.
‘Smokers who have considered quitting will do so, and if they have fewer opportunities to smoke, they will be less likely to resume the habit.’
According to research, after smoking was banned indoors in 2007, people were encouraged to stop smoking inside their own homes.
An outdoor smoking ban could have similar benefits and represent “a net positive effect on population health,” Dr. Shahab said.
The 7,000 chemicals in tobacco (including tar and others that can narrow arteries and damage blood vessels) are thought to be responsible for some of the damage smoking does to the heart.
Meanwhile, nicotine, a highly addictive toxin found in tobacco, is strongly linked to dangerous increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
Smoking also releases poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, which replace oxygen in the blood, reducing the availability of oxygen to the heart.
Currently, only a handful of countries in the world have stricter anti-smoking laws. Last year, Mexico enacted a total ban on smoking in public places.
The measure, which was first passed in 2021, also includes a ban on tobacco advertising. which means that cigarettes cannot even be displayed inside stores.
Meanwhile, in Canada, smoking is banned on public transportation and in all enclosed public spaces, including restaurant and bar patios.
Other health experts today hailed the rumours about the UK’s plans as a step in the right direction.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the government was “catching up with what the public expects, and that is not having to breathe tobacco smoke in places like children’s play areas and outside seating areas in pubs, restaurants and cafes”.
However, he added that it was important to ensure there were still outdoor areas where people could “smoke outside, rather than inside their homes”.
Meanwhile, Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said she was “obviously in favour of measures that help abolish smoking”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: “It is without doubt the biggest health challenge of our time. It is the single largest cause of preventable disease in the UK.”
“We are therefore encouraged to see that progress is being made and that the intention is to move forward to really address one of the main drivers of health inequalities in Britain.”
The Prime Minister is reportedly willing to go ahead with the bill.
It is also said to have the backing of chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, with ministers arguing the economic benefits outweigh its potential costs.
Ministers are expected to say that smoking costs £21.8bn in health costs.
The original indoor smoking ban, introduced across the UK by Tony Blair in 2007, was criticised by some for leading to the closure of pubs, particularly smaller ones that were unable to adapt.
This move follows more recent anti-smoking measures, such as the ban on menthol cigarettes in 2020 and the ban on smoking in cars with children in 2015.
However, it is currently unclear how far a smoker would have to walk from a location such as a pub or restaurant before they can legally light up.
The country aims to become a “smoke-free” country by 2030, by which time only five percent of the nation would own cigarettes.
This comes just months after the House of Commons overwhelmingly passed the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, bringing the government closer to implementing into law that anyone born after January 1, 2009 would never be able to legally purchase cigarettes.
If ultimately approved, it would mean that the age at which people can buy cigarettes would increase by one year each year.
Although smoking rates are falling, the growing population means there are still around 6.4 million smokers in the UK.
It is estimated that around 500,000 hospital admissions each year in England are attributable to smoking and that it costs the economy £17 billion a year.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2023 health report showed that 12.7 per cent of Britons aged 15 and over smoke cigarettes daily, a figure far higher than in the United States and New Zealand, the latter of which recently introduced a similar phased smoking ban.
Cancer Research UK data also shows there were around 57,600 diagnoses of cancers caused by smoking in 2023, compared with 49,325 in 2003.
Tobacco is known to cause 16 different types of cancer, with lung cancer alone causing 33,000 cases a year.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We do not comment on leaks.
‘Smoking claims 80,000 lives a year, puts enormous strain on our NHS and costs taxpayers billions.
“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from passive smoking. We are considering a series of measures to finally make Britain a smoke-free country.”