Summer is set to be smoke-free.
Smoking has been officially banned from Manchester’s all-new pop-up outdoor seating areas, with Manchester City Council requesting that all participating bars and restaurants now enforce the new rule. The new rule comes as the UK government recently passed a new legislation, which requires all bars and restaurants to provide both smoking and non-smoking outdoor spaces for their guests.
[Featured image: eatmcr]
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, the executive member for neighbourhoods, said of the ban: “The introduction of outside seating for the hospitality sector has been a positive step over the past few weeks. We are seeing the public enjoy a degree of normality, and we are also seeing our businesses pick up following the devastating impact of the lockdown. Many have fed back that the additional provision has saved their business.
“However, we have not endured one health crisis to sleepwalk into another. We know that in Manchester there are still too many people smoking and we want to play our part to ensure that the city is a place where smoking is not a cultural norm.
“Smoking is not only terrible for our health but is also an unpleasant thing for bystanders to endure. I am sure that after months inside the last thing people want is a face full of smoke when trying to enjoy a meal or drink.
“It should be said that progress is being made although slower than we’d like to see. Between 2017 and 2019 the number of people aged 18 and over who smoked fell from 22% to 18%. But, this is still too far off the national average of 13%. We want to get to this target, and decrease it still further.”
The new rule applies to all businesses who recently obtained a “pavement” license in a bid to reduce the number of smokers in Manchester, with statistics revealing that Manchester has one of the worst rates nationally for lung cancer registrations, cardiovascular disease, male under 75 mortality rates from lung cancer and male under 75 mortality from heart disease. The council has also revealed that Manchester has approximately 6,000 smoking-related hospital admissions every single year.