The government has been accused of pushing towards a “nanny state” after leaked reports showed it is considering banning smoking in pub gardens and other outdoor venues.

Ministers are considering banning smoking in a variety of places, including pub gardens, outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, nightclubs and in small parks, according to a leaked report seen by The Sun newspaper.

The government has refused to comment on the “secret Whitehall papers” but Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association said an outside ban raises the question of “what is next?”.

“This raises the critical question: Are we on the brink of becoming a nanny state? What is next?” he said.

“While these measures may rightly be driven by public health considerations, they risk dividing opinion and imposing yet another regulatory burden on businesses already facing considerable challenges.

“At a time when our industry desperately needs the freedom to trade, the last thing we need is further barriers.”

He said many of the 6.4 million people who smoke in the UK “enjoy doing so in social settings like beer gardens”.

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“We must question whether such an approach is truly in the public interest, or whether it risks over-regulation at the cost of personal freedom and business viability,” he added.

Reem Ibrahim, from the Institute of Economic Affairs think tank, said a ban would be “another nail in the coffin for the pub industry”.

“The government’s own impact assessment concluded that banning smoking outdoors will lead to pub closures and job losses,” she said.

“Pubs and other private venues should be able to determine their own outdoor smoking rules – just as they should be allowed to decide whether to play music, serve food or show football on TV.

“Smoking rates are already declining in the UK, in large part due to smokers switching to safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes.

“The Government should look to countries like Sweden, which has attained the lowest prevalence of smoking in the world not by implementing nanny state measures like this proposal, but by allowing adults to choose safer and healthier products

When contacted about the report, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We do not comment on leaks.

“Smoking claims 80,000 lives a year, puts huge pressure on our NHS, and costs taxpayers billions.

“We are determined to protect children and non-smokers from the harms of second-hand smoking.

“We’re considering a range of measures to finally make Britain smoke-free.”

The reports comes after Labour said it will resurrect Rishi Sunak’s flagship smoking ban, which was shelved before the election.

The King’s speech at July’s opening of Parliament promised to reintroduce the legislation to increase progressively the age at which people can buy cigarettes.

Read more:
How would a smoking ban work?
Legal age should rise by a year every year

Under the proposed smoking ban, a 14-year-old today will never legally be able to buy a cigarette.

In the speech, Labour also laid out plans to impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes.