NO PLANS are being considered to crackdown on smoking for outdoor hospitality in Slough but could be reviewed in the future.

Last week, Oxfordshire announced they planned to be the first smoke-free county by 2025, which could involve banning smoking in outdoor seating areas at restaurants and bars.

This could also involve encouraging employers to promote smoke-free environments and to stop staff smoking outside offices and factories.

It has been reported Slough suffers from the worst air pollution in the South East, which prompted the council to compile plans in order to improve the borough’s air quality.

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According to Public Health England data, they reveal 21.26 per cent of people within the Slough boundary were still smokers in 2018.

With that in mind, the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Slough Borough Council if they were considering the same move as Oxfordshire.

Councillor Natasa Pantelic (Lab: Cippenham Meadows), lead member for social care and public health said: “We are not currently considering this action, but will be closely following the impact of the bans elsewhere to see of this initiative leads to better public health outcomes.”

Oxford’s crackdown received a mixed response from the public with some welcoming the idea and others not so keen on the idea.

Pro-smoking lobby groups were dismissive of the proposed plans, saying it was “no business” for local councils if adults choose to smoke.

We asked our Berkshire readers their thoughts on the smoke-free proposals.

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One resident said: “You choose to smoke so do it in your own home. I hate walking past people and getting a face full of smoke. Best thing they did was ban it in pubs everyone moaned about it at the time. But everyone is use to it now.”

Another added: “I’m a non-smoker but think it’s unfair to those who are  and it’s up to them if they want to. Banning smoking outdoors isn’t going to make people stop. It will just damage the hospitality industry further because people will stay at home to drink rather than go to pubs/restaurants.”