Should smoking outside restaurants be banned?
As Brighton City Council considers banning smoking outside restaurants, cafés and pubs, loveFOOD asks if it would be a good move.
Brighton has been in the headlines recently following its public consideration of a ban on smoking in public places, which will potentially include its beaches, the city’s parks, and may also affect restaurants and pubs with outdoor seating.
The proposed ban is currently open to a consultation, during which the council is asking people to indicate their feelings on each potential smoke-free space.
Is it anti-social to smoke near food?
Another question that Brighton City Council is posing on its questionnaire is whether respondents agree that it is anti-social to smoke where people are eating and drinking.
A strong argument could be made that it is. After all, enjoying food is about taste and smell, as well as the company. If someone sparks up a fag at the table next to you, it’s likely that the smoke is going to affect your enjoyment of the meal – even if you’re sitting outside.
Some people will not mind having a smoker sitting next to them while they eat, but others would find it a real problem. While they can now enjoy the smoke-free interior of all public restaurants, cafés and pubs, they can’t sit outside on a sunny day without being potentially exposed to second-hand smoke. And if the smoker(s) sit down partway through your meal, it could be difficult to move to another table.
What the smoking ban doesn't cover
While the 2007 smoking ban is enforced by law within indoor spaces, it doesn’t apply to outside areas owned or used by restaurants and bars, so people have been able to smoke while eating and drinking – unless specific premises have taken it upon themselves to enforce their own ban on doing so.
The solution to smoking?
Personally, I don’t feel that it’s that much to ask that smokers leave designated eating and drinking areas if they want to smoke. Other people have every right to enjoy themselves without enduring a smoky atmosphere if it's ruining their meal.
However, compulsory action from pubs and restaurants isn’t necessarily on the cards. Councillor Daniel Yates, chair of the City’s Health and Wellbeing Board, told food industry website Big Hospitality that Brighton would “certainly not be looking at any additional compulsory smoking restrictions to business, other than the existing smoking ban.”
Depending on the results of the consultation, he said that the city “may want to work with businesses to encourage smoke-free outdoor areas on a voluntary basis.” So certain restaurants could still allow smoking in their outdoor areas while others might decide it best to ask customers not to.
Outdoor smoking ban limits
The reality is it would be difficult to draw a line as to where any enforced ban would apply, particularly in the case of pubs. If you’re standing and smoking a few paces away from a pub’s front door, are you affecting its customers? Likewise, if you walk past entrances while smoking, would you be violating the ban?
A ban may be a step too far and cause a backlash from restaurants who want to keep everybody happy – or as many people as possible. But most important of all is arguably the actions of the smokes themselves. A considerate smoker can, at the very least, ask their neighbours if they mind them lighting up.
Do you think smoking in outside restaurant and pub areas should be banned? Or at least where people are eating? Let us know your opinions in the Comments below.
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