大象传媒

Is banning smoking outdoors good for our health or state overreach?

The Prime Minister has confirmed he's thinking about extending the indoor smoking ban to include outdoor areas restaurant terraces and pub gardens. This, in addition, to plans to progressively increase the age at which you can buy cigarettes so a whole generation never even starts smoking.

It's sparked a social media discussion on personal freedom, the nanny state and the removal of civil liberties. But others argued that it would improve health, help the NHS and de-normalise smoking.

Adam Fleming asks what does this reaction tell us about attitudes to public health, the collective wellness of a nation and the role of the individual within it?

GUESTS
Chris Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs
Deborah Arnott Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
Dr Tessa Langley, health economist specialising in the field of tobacco control, University of Nottingham
Virginia Berridge , Professor of History and Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Prof George Davey Smith, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Bristol Medical School