Health professionals have welcomed the proposals.

Dr Layla McCay of the NHS Confederation told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the plans would reduce “the huge problems that are caused to the individual and to society from smoking.”

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health, said the public expected “not to have to breathe in tobacco smoke in places like children’s play areas and seating areas outside pubs, restaurants and cafés”.

But she added it was important to ensure that there were still outdoor areas for people to “smoke in the open air, rather than inside their homes”.

However, those from the hospitality sector are worried the ban will hurt businesses.

“This needs to be thought through very carefully before we damage businesses and economic growth and jobs,” Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UK Hospitality, told the Today programme.

But JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin said: “I don’t think it will have a big effect on our business, one way or another.”

Chief executive of Revolution Bars, Rob Pitchers, said he was not convinced smoking in beer gardens was “prevalent enough to be putting any strain at all on the NHS”.

According to official government data for England and Wales, the number of pub closures over the first three months of 2024 was up 51% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), a leading industry body which represents 20,000 pubs in the UK, said pub numbers had significantly decreased because of factors including the Covid pandemic and energy crisis.