A possible smoking ban in outdoor spaces of pubs, bars and restaurants in the UK is likely to do more harm than good, leading trade figures have warned.

The ban would make it illegal to smoke in pubs, outdoor restaurants and open-air spaces in nightclubs, according to leaked documents seen by The Sun, in a further effort to create a ‘smoke-free generation.’

However, leisure groups have warned a ban may just lead to relocating smoking elsewhere, such as in the home, rather than reducing smoking, UKHospitality have said.

It could harm Britain’s slowly-recovering hospitality sector, which has suffered in the last few years under lockdown, inflation and soaring energy prices due to the cost of living crisis and Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The leaked report comes after Labour has said it will reinstate Rishi Sunak’s smoking bill, which will see those born after 2008 unable to buy cigarettes.

Mike Salem, the UK Country Associate for the Consumer Choice Center (CCC) added: “Smoking areas provide an opportunity for smokers to distance themselves from children and other non-smokers, thus controlling their externalities.

“Abolishing these areas will not deter smoking, but encourage people back to smoking in front of non-smokers indoors and break the law, which renders it ineffective and goes against creating a smoke-free generation.”

Salem further called on the government to urgently deny these proposed measures or to provide evidence for the rationale behind them. “It is important that public health measures, particularly on smoking and vaping, be driven by facts and evidence, and not polls and anecdotes.”

“We call on the government to exercise restraint and scrap these unscientific measures,” he said.

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