UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pushing for a permanent ban on smoking in pubs (not just indoors, but in “beer gardens”), according to the Beertoday website. “My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking,” he told the PA news agency. “That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayers.”

It’s a bit confusing: will banning people from smoking in outdoor areas make anyone feel better? – They won’t stop smoking anyway, they’ll just forget the way to the pub… How this will ease the heavy burden on taxpayers and the NHS is unclear….

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, is calling on the government to reconsider its “misguided” restriction on smoking in pub gardens, as detailed in the leak.

She said: “It is deeply concerning and difficult to understand why the government would bring forward proposals that will be yet another blow to the viability of our nation’s vital community assets.”

“We know from experience that this restriction would have a devastating impact on pubs, who are already struggling with soaring energy prices and the cost of doing business.”

“For generations, pubs have welcomed people, not turned them away, helped combat loneliness, and provided a vital place where people meet and make friends.”

“These benefits to the community and local economy must not be taken for granted, and we urge the government to reconsider this misguided restriction.”

Steve Alton, chief executive of the British Institute of Innkeeping, said: “Since the smoking ban in 2007, our members have made significant adaptations to their venues, to accommodate all of their customers. These changes included huge investments in outdoor spaces and diversifying their offer to be able to welcome everyone to their pubs.

“Any further disruption to their businesses would be incredibly damaging, particularly for our small, drinks-led, community pubs, who provide essential connection in villages, towns, and high streets across the UK.

“They have already weathered so much, and with only one in four making a clear profit currently, the impact of increased regulation and restrictions on their ability to survive and thrive could be devastating.

“Our pubs need support, investment and a fair and level playing field to be able to remain at the heart of their communities. Without them, their essential role across the UK is at risk.”

This is the opinion of people on the inside, people who know this field of activity firsthand, but it will be decided not by them, but by politicians.

From the editor: “I am a non-smoker – I have never smoked in my life. And I support the ban on smoking in public places. But I think that smokers are citizens like you and me. And when prohibiting them something, we should think about their rights and not turn “smokers” into social outcasts.

I often remember an incident. When I was leaving the airport, my daughter asked me to walk her to the smoking room. When I saw this “room,” I felt sick: a glass cube 4 by 4 meters in size was so full of smoke (the ventilation could not cope) that people could not be seen – only blurred silhouettes… This is how they showed “care about smokers” at our airports…