A proposed ban on smoking in pub gardens and outdoor venues, as part of the UK Government's new strategy to curb tobacco use, has been met with mixed responses from the readers of The Northern Echo.

Leaked proposals, reported by The Sun newspaper earlier this week, suggest the Government will ban smoking in some outdoor areas, such as at restaurants and hospitals, to improve public health.

Echo reader Bernice Smith said: "I hate cigarette smoke and vapes but I don’t sit were they are unless it’s absolutely necessary."

Likewise, Dave Wade said: "Personally, I avoid pub gardens because my enjoyment is frequently spoilt by the noxious aroma of cigarette smoke drifting towards me."

On the other hand, some readers feel the proposed restrictions are unnecessary.

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Sam Starbuck said: "I’m not a smoker but I think it’s going too far, controlling people’s lives has a limit."

Similarly, Lynne Marie Douglas said: "I don’t smoke but NO it should not be stopped outside. If I don’t want to stand next to someone smoking I move."

Concerns have been raised about how a ban may impact the hospitality sector already hit hard by Covid-19 restrictions in recent years.

Nikki Chambers said: "I don't smoke and never have but I think socially people go out and enjoy a smoke.

"Pubs are struggling for business as it is, further restrictions will cause further difficulties."

Some readers believe a ban should only extend to specific public spaces.

Jenni Robinson said: "Not in pub gardens but in venues that are for children outside and outside hospitals. It’s grim!"

Syed Ahmed said: "If people want to smoke in places provided for smokers let them."

Government minister Baroness Jacqui Smith told Sky News: “The biggest nail in the coffin of most people in this country is smoking – 80,000 people die every year from smoking related diseases.

“What we’re trying to do is to make, both through lifting the age at which you can start smoking, by providing ways in which you can get out of smoking, and by making fewer places where you actually can smoke..."