Newcastle Council backs smoking ban

Newcastle Council has come out in favour of the government’s planned outdoor smoking restrictions.

Transcript

00:00Newcastle City Council has backed the government's controversial plans to clamp down on outdoor

00:05smoking. The local authority, who has previously aimed to be a smoke-free city, has advised

00:10that the measures would ease pressure on the NHS and would be beneficial to all people

00:13in the city. Businesses within the hospitality trade have been pressuring the council to

00:17reconsider, saying that these measures would be devastating to their industry, which has

00:21suffered in recent years from the global financial crisis and Covid lockdowns. A spokesperson

00:27for the council said the negative impact of tobacco has been recognised as the single

00:30biggest preventable cause of death in England, and it can cause harm to almost every part

00:34of the human body. There are currently around 6.5 million smokers in England, and government

00:40statistics state that approximately 80,000 people in the country die from smoking-related

00:44issues every year. If passed, the new restrictions would only apply in England, but all new licences

00:50for pavement cafes and outdoor seating areas in bars and restaurants would be no-smoking.

00:55About 100 such places in the city are already smoke-free.