Smoking proposals will be introduced ‘in full consultation with business’, says Lucy Powell

Commons leader Lucy Powell has said that any plans to extend smoking bans to some outdoor spaces would be done in “full consultation with business”.

Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, she said that the government was “looking at different ways” to make Britain a “smoke-free country”, but did not outline what specific measures may be included in the tobacco and vapes bill.

She said: “There has been a consensus for a long time now that we want to see a smoke-free country, because the health benefits of that, and the benefits to the economy, are huge and that’s why it is something we’ll be working towards.”

The Sun reported earlier this week that Downing Street was considering plans to implement restrictions on smoking in areas including pub and restaurant gardens, small parks and universities.

The rumoured proposal has sparked concern among some in the hospitality sector, who have warned a ban could be damaging to their businesses.

However, Powell stressed that any proposals would be “designed, implemented and considered in full consultation with licensing authorities and businesses”.

She said: “Any such measures to extend some of these issues around smoking will be done in full consultation with business. We will work incredibly closely about how we would tackle such issues and implement any such measures should they come forward – and the hospitality industry can be assured of that.

“That’s what we did when we banned smoking in public indoors in the last Labour government, which led to an increase in people attending pubs at the time.”

First introduced under Rishi Sunak, the tobacco and vapes bill will include plans to gradually increase the smoking age in order to create a “smoke-free generation”.

Powell also hinted that the bill would look towards tackling “the scourge of vaping, which is a real blight for many young people”.

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