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.”
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.”
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?’
Here’s what you said:
___
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.
___
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.
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.
___
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
Spanish journalist rubbishes reports of Barcelona debating ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early
Danny Jones
Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué has come out to rubbish reports that FC Barcelona have been considering ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early.
The well-known football reporter, who regularly works with the likes of Sky Sports, CBS Sports, BBC and more, is one of many to have publicly decried false claims made about the Manchester United loanee, who joined the La Liga giants at the start of this summer.
Barca themselves are also said to have quashed the rumours, with Balagué’s quotes having now been widely circulated online.
Speaking via X over the weekend, the 56-year-old put it simply: that the rumblings are nonsense, reassuring that the club have plenty of faith in his abilities.
Absolutely rubbish that Barcelona is planning to end up early @MarcusRashford loan deal
Barça told his representative that they have a lot of confidence in Rashford’s potential and that they believe he will recover as a top player
As you can see, the Catalan-born RCD Espanyol fan also chose to publicly align himself with former England footballer, Gary Lineker, who has suggested that a targeted and discriminatory narrative against Rashford has developed in recent years.
Though he didn’t state it verbatim, Balagué added: “No more to say, apart from the fact I agree with Gary Lineker and his treatment by some media.”
In case you were unaware of what he’s precisely referring to, Lineker said in a chat with the Man United forward on his The Rest Is Football podcast that he believes Rashford “wouldn’t face the same criticism if he was white.”
Having also made the move from Britain to Barcelona back in 1986 (spending a total of three seasons there), the 64-year-old knows plenty about adjusting from playing in one country to another.
You can see the interview in full here.
The interview was conducted shortly after Rashford’s loan deal was completed, and he had plenty to say about his boyhood team.
Responding to Balagué’s social media post, one commenter wrote: “This nonsense is coming from racist journalists in England who refuse to leave [Rashford] alone. They bullied him when he was in England, especially during times when he seemed unhappy.
“Now, these haters have followed him to Barcelona. Rashford is one of the kindest players in the world, but these clowns just won’t let him live his life in peace.”
It is worth noting, however, that the original reports in question and ultimately aggregated by media across Europe and here in the UK come from a domestic outlet, El Nacional.
While he is yet to rediscover the form of his peak years in United red at the Camp Nou, he is now entering what are traditionally seen as the ‘prime’ period in a footballer’s career and did show more positive signs on loan at Aston Villa during the second half of the previous campaign.
At 27, there is still plenty of time to turn things around; that being said, after being brought back into the national team and with his parent club holding an option to buy clause for around a reported £20 million, the question remains whether he will be returning to Old Trafford at the end of the term. Speaking of…
Asda is being praised for its revolutionary and affordable new ‘adaptive’ clothing range
Danny Jones
UK supermarket ASDA and its in-house clothing brand, George, are being praised for their affordable new ‘adaptive’ clothing range, which could prove revolutionary for countless Brits.
The new 28-piece collection is aimed at people with additional and complex needs, providing comfortable and carefully designed clothes to suit disabled individuals.
Announced on Monday, 8 September, the new accessibility-driven line of fashion is set to be made available to order online next week.
Speaking via an official press release, qualified medical professional Sarah Phillips (who has been directly involved in the initial adaptive trial herself) has dubbed the upcoming range as nothing short of “a game-changer.”
Phillips, who lives with a neuromuscular disease that requires a feeding tube, catheter, and extensive scans, says ASDA’s adaptive range is “not just designed for people who need it – it’s designed by people who need it, and that’s what sets it apart.”
Noting that the impressive amount of first-hand knowledge pulled from those living with various disabilities is what makes “it far better than anything else available” on the market right now, the revolutionary adaptive range is crucially costed up at a price point in keeping with ASDA‘s values.
For example, the cheapest item starts at just £11 and the most expensive is still only £24.
Most importantly, all of the designs include key features to create as much ease in the wearer’s life as possible, such as hospital-friendly plastic zips, openings for feeding tubes, discreet pockets for stoma bags and more.
This comes after Alex Newman – the husband of late breast cancer campaigner, Nicky Newman, whose story inspired this particular adaptive range – said that struggling to get in and out of clothes was not only a frustrating part of her battle, but that she “found it undignified”.
“She looked for adapted clothing she could wear”, he adds, “but there wasn’t much choice. She bought a jumper from one brand and, while it really helped her, it cost £90 – a huge expense at a time when our finances were already impacted by her leaving her job due to the effects of cancer on her health.”
Nicky sadly passed away on 17 September 2023.
Karl Doyle, Vice President of George Clothing, said in an official statement:“We have worked closely with Nicky, Alex and their network of friends to create this bold adaptive range that we hope has fulfilled Nicky’s wishes.
“We have taken time and passion to really understand the specific needs of each item produced – how we can make them more comfortable, fashionable, affordable and dignified. Today is such a proud moment to see the range launch; we hope it’ll benefit many more people with specific treatment needs.”
The entire ASDA adaptive clothing range drops online-only in full on Monday, 15 September; for now, you can see the full list of all 28 items, find out more information on each, and read more touching tributes about Nicky and the journey behind this disability-friendly clothing revolution HERE.
Congratulations to everyone involved with this inspirational and heartwarming project – you’ve done yourselves, Nicky and countless people living with disabilities SO proud.
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2020 
