Sir Keir Starmer defends outdoor smoking ban to tackle ‘burden on the NHS’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended his decision to implement a ban on outdoor smoking in certain areas, deeming smoking a “burden on the NHS”.

He said: “Over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking doing it. That’s a preventable death. It’s a huge burden on the NHS, and of course it’s a burden on the taxpayer.

“So yes, we are going to take decisions in this space. More details will be revealed, but this is a preventable series of deaths, and we’ve got to take the action to reduce the burden on the NHS and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.”

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