It is widely being reported that government ministers are facing huge calls by peers this week to put a ban on smoking outside pubs, bars and restaurants.
Ministers are being urged to address outdoor smoking and the uses of designated smoking areas in the interest of public health as “pavement drinks”, alfresco dining and outdoor socialising continues to be widely embraced by many hospitality establishments after post-lockdown reopenings amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
A group of cross-party peers are believed to be set to challenge ministers in Parliament today during a debate on emergency planning legislation and are set to force a vote on the issue next week.
According to The i, the peers are to table an amendment to the Business and Planning Bill which stipulates that pavement licences should only be granted by a local authority subject to the condition that smoking is banned.
Deborah Arnott, the Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “Making smoke-free status a condition for all pavement licences sets a level playing field for business and the public, and has strong public support, which will make it easy to enforce.”
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Alison Cox, Director of Prevention at Cancer Research UK, added that: “The pandemic has changed the way we live and most of us are spending more time outside, but being stuck in a queue or outside a café, escaping second hand smoke isn’t an easy option anymore.”
“Second-hand smoke is harmful and can be unpleasant to those nearby and smoke-free environments are important in protecting people and denormalising smoking in society.”
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As many streets in Manchester city centre, primarily in the Northern Quarter and surrounding areas, have become temporarily pedestrianised to allow for additional al-fresco dining/drinking tables in the name of social distancing, and with similar set-ups seen throughout the boroughs too, is outdoor smoking becoming something of a growing concern to patrons in our county?
Here at The Manc, we always want to know where you stand.
Ahead of a parliamentary decision, we were keen to find out whether a ban would be be supported, or viewed as unnecessary in Greater Manchester, so we took to our audience of loyal Mancunians on Facebook and Twitter to ask – ‘Do you think smoking should be banned outside restaurants/bars?’
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Here’s what you said:
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Facebook
Over on Facebook, we put the question to our 500,000+ followers and invited all manner of response.
We received an overwhelmingly active response from our audience to this question and therefore haven’t been able to include every single comment in this article. Instead, we chose to feature a range of responses which seemed to resonate best with others and amass the most interactions overall.
If you are keen to have a read of the rest of the responses and have your say, you can head on over to the post on our Facebook page here.
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Twitter
When it came to Twitter, we chose to ask the simple ‘yes/no’ question, and in the two-hour time frame to which the poll was running for, we received a total of 1,034 votes.
According to the standings, voting appeared closer than ever.
Whilst results were running neck and neck throughout the majority of the two-hour period, they finally edged over and signalled that voters feel a ban on smoking outside of pubs, bars and restaurants in England is not necessary and should not take effect.
51% of voters felt a ban would not be needed under current circumstances, whereas only 49% indicated they would like to see one put in place.
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Follow-up responses to this poll were also invited and can be viewed here.
Are you keen to have your say?
If you’ve not yet had the chance to respond our poll, then there is still time to head on over to @TheMancUK on Twitter to take part, leave your thoughts and discuss matters with other Mancunians in the same, or different positions to you.
Do you think smoking should be banned outside of pubs and restaurants?
The Manc is helping local businesses and venues get back on their feet after lockdown with our #BuzzingToBeBack campaign – offering as much support and exposure for Manchester hospitality as possible.
Read more about what we’re doing for the industry here.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to the gov.uk website here.
#StaySafeSaveLives
Trending
Met Office predicts UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer
Emily Sergeant
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year.
Fresh off-the-back of the news that 2025 is already the hottest spring on record, with a recorded 630 hours of sunshine from 1 March until 27 May, beating out the previous sunniest spring in 2020 by just four hours, the Met Office is now predicting that the UK is on the verge of a summer that’s ‘hotter than usual’.
According to its three-month outlook, the Met Office has predicted that it’s 2.3 times more-likely than ‘normal’ that it will be hot in the UK between 1 June and 31 August.
The average temperatures during those months are set to range from 10-17°C.
🌡️ ☀️ The UK has recorded its warmest and sunniest spring on record, according to provisional Met Office statistics.
Spring 2025 is now the 4th sunniest season overall for the UK, with only 3 summers sunnier since 1910.
Details in release below, or read this short thread 👇🧵
After it was revealed that this has also been the UK’s driest spring in more than a century, meteorologists are warning Brits that there could heatwave conditions could be reached at various times throughout the summer.
The release of the long-range forecast – which gives an indication of possible temperatures, rainfall, and wind speed over a period as a whole – comes after temperatures soared to 8°C (46F) above the average for this time of year this Saturday just gone (31 May).
It is important to note, however, that the Met Office thinks these predicted temperatures are similar to those in recent years, and it does not guarantee ‘prolonged’ hot weather.
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer this year / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
The Met Office said in a statement: “While the current three-month outlook shows an increased chance of a hot summer, the temperature signals for this summer are similar to those for recent years and consistent with our warming climate.
“The increased chance of hotter than average temperatures is not a guarantee of prolonged hot weather or heatwaves, but it does mean that heatwave conditions could be reached at times.
“However, it’s important to bear in mind that an increased chance of hot conditions could also reflect a mix of hot and cool days, warm nights, or less extreme levels of warmth rather than continual heatwave conditions specifically.”
Featured Image – Garry Knight (via Flickr)
Trending
Doctor Who fans left scratching their heads over new star following ‘surprise’ regeneration
Danny Jones
Thousands of Doctor Who fans have been left scratching their heads following the most recent season finale and yet another regeneration that absolutely NO ONE was expecting.
Seriously, if you predicted this, then you’re just lying.
Following the series 15 conclusion – or rather the ‘second’ under the Disney+ umbrella – which saw Ncuti Gatwa vacate the moniker after just two series, showrunner Russell T Davies made his first real big splash since returning to the franchise.
If you’re looking for just one singular meme that sums up the general audience’s reaction to the episode, look no further:
Doctor Who remains one of the most iconic British TV shows of all time, but it’s fair to say it hasn’t been without its ups and downs over the years, and this latest turn has proved just as divisive.
After being first brought back from a 16-year hiatus following the sci-fi series’ original run from 1963 to 1989, the latest iteration is now two decades and six new Doctors in.
Or is that seven?…
Sex Education star Gatwa may be the 15th Doctor all told (with David Tennant’s own mini return marking number 14), but it looks like the latest might be former reboot star Rose Tyler herself, a.k.a. Billie Piper.
Remaining tight-lipped on social media, Billie has said little more than fans will have to “wait and see”, as well as her cryptic “a rose is a rose” post; as for the BBC themselves, they have only offered a press release, teasing that “just how and why she [Billie Piper] is back remains to be seen…”
In case you haven’t seen it yet, let’s all watch it together in real time, shall we?
What a surprise!
While there are plenty of clues and theories now being picked apart by so-called ‘Whovians’, we have little more evidence than the scene itself and the final line in the end credits of the episode, which read: “Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. And introducing Billie Piper”.
Plenty of fans are obviously over the moon to see the 42-year-old back on board, regardless of the circumstances, but it hasn’t stopped them from tying themselves up in knots of confusion, especially given the very obvious canon questions posed following the reveal.
For anyone not even remotely clued up on her connection to the show, Billie Piper previously played Rose Tyler – the first companion of the modern era, who has returned for a number of cameos in the past – but (no spoilers), having her return as not just a different character but THE Doctor seems rather complex.
Nevertheless, the speculation that has ensued online since the reveal has been enjoyable on both sides of the argument.
WHATTTTT
Billie Piper is the 16th Doctor
Billie Piper has played the famous Rose Tyler, the bad wolf and NOW the Doctor
I'm actually here for this. I'm sorry to anyone who's not.. but this is MAD.. and I'm here for it. genuinely am here. #DoctorWhopic.twitter.com/aFlGpoNP0g
Since the recent rebrand to make the show more palatable to American and global viewers, there has been a noticeable increase in the community’s presence online.
One overseas fan wrote X: “It’s been 20 years and Rose Tyler is still my favourite companion, she was my first after all. In whatever incarceration Billie Piper shows up as, it just reminds me of being a teen again, being introduced to this wild British TV show on the SciFi channel.
As far as our opinion, we’re only casual Doctor Who fans, but we can’t lie, we’re pretty excited to see whatever they have in store.
What do you make of the whole thing? Is Billie Piper really going to become the new Doctor and, if so, are you on board, or are you in the camp of it’s a bit of opportunistic lip service for fans?
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2020 
