![Public smoking ban: The reason why even doctors say beer garden ruling is 'over-the-top'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/29/16/89069771-0-image-a-1_1724946723841.jpg)
Under the reported crackdown, the public could be barred from lighting up in pub gardens, near football grounds and even outside nightclubs. Pavements beside universities and hospitals, restaurant terraces and shisha bars are also expected to be made smoke-free zones - as the new Labour government cracks down even harder than former PM Rishi Sunak planned. But health experts told MailOnline that issues arising from second-hand smoke outdoors were 'likely very low'. One cancer specialist with over 40 years' experience, told MailOnline: 'I'm anti-smoking, as an oncologist I know the harms, but this is going a bit too far.