MSE Poll: Should the smoking ban be extended?

MSE_Petar

Poll started 22 June 2021

Smoking in enclosed public spaces has been banned since 2007 (2006 in Scotland). Now, as the Government works towards the UK being smoke-free by 2030, five councils in England have reportedly banned smoking outside pubs, cafés and restaurants. How far do you think the smoking ban should go?

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haz25a

No, pubs, cafes and restaurants have suffered enough during the pandemic. Banning smoking outside them will lose more customers. I think if you asked the majority of owners they would agree with me.

wisemse

I'm not so sure, I would love to sit outside at cafes/restaurants/pubs but it's impossible without being plagued by someone smoking nearby, which I find ruins the experience so I never bother. Do owners really know how many people would be lost or gained by this change? Only 14% of people smoke in the UK. Maybe stopping smoking outside might appeal to a big enough proportion of the remaining 86% to replace the small number of smoking customers which may be lost.
You really need a wide spread trial. When smoking stopped in pubs it didn't stop smokers going as they had no choice. If one place tried a smoking ban I agree it might initially be bad for business as smokers would find somewhere else and new customers would not be aware of the ban, but does a widespread ban really affect business or just require people to get used to it. It allowed me to resume visits to the pub. What I hate is having to sit inside on a nice day because it's less smoky than outside!
BTW, it's not entirely clear what the questionnaire is asking. What do you class as outside public space? I can tolerate some smoking in streets and parks, but what about pub gardens, or privately owned restaurant/cafe space (not pavements)? Are they public or private for the purposes of the questionnaire?

kags

I agree: one of the reasons we haven’t been to a pub at all in the last 15 months is because of outdoor smoking.  If a local pub advertised outside non-smoking areas we’d be there like a shot!
It would also be good to have at least an “exclusion zone” outside buildings so you don’t have to run the gauntlet of all the smokers puffing away outside pubs, shopping centres, railway stations etc etc.