Manchester one of five councils to ban smoking outside restaurants and pubs

At least five councils in the UK have banned smoking in pavement dining areas outside pubs, bars and restaurants, and a sixth could soon follow, according to reports this morning.

The local authorities, which includes Manchester City Council, have begun including the rules in their licensing agreements for establishments applying to place table and chairs outdoors.

While smoking in outdoor seating areas has already been prohibited in the last year as part of Covid-19 regulations, these new bans have come as the government attempts to make the country ‘smoke free’ within the decade.

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All five councils are in England’s North; Manchester, North Tyneside, Durham, Newcastle, and Northumberland will be banning smoking on the pavements where outdoor hospitality venues have tables, the Guardian reports.

The councils have already begun stipulating smoke-free pavement drinking and dining rules in the past year, according to their licensing conditions.

This comes just days after it was announced that Oxfordshire would be the first county to enforce the ban.

The plan was agreed by public health officials before the pandemic began in February last year, and is now being implemented as lockdown begins to ease.

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Oxfordshire’s policy document says ‘reducing the visibility of smoking’ will make it seem more abnormal, so children are less likely to start.

It adds: “By compelling smokers to remove themselves from defined areas to smoke, there is increased chance that they will consider stopping.”

In 2019, the government first announced a new ambition to make England ‘smoke-free’ by 2030. Smoke-free status is officially recognised by the Government when 5% or less of an area’s population are smokers.