This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

There’s no smoke without political fire, it would seem.  

Barely in the door of No 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is warming up predecessor Rishi Sunak’s war on tobacco aficionados with a potential smoking ban in some outdoor areas.  

Just as Sunak mulled over (but never actually got round to) making the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009, the new labour Government has decided that something has to be done to improve the nation’s health, and smokers are once again in its sights.  

If this feels a bit like the country is retreading old ground, then that’s because it is.  

It’s been just shy of two decades since smoking was banned in enclosed public spaces, clearing the smog from anywhere people gathered, including prisons and pubs.  

Scotland was the first country in the UK to bring in such a ban in 2006, and it led to much gnashing of teeth and warnings of woe from those in the hospitality trade.  

Now the indoor smoking ban could be extended to cover other locations including small parks, outdoor restaurants and hospitals – and all those terraces and pavement seating areas which have sprung up to allow dedicated smokers to get a lungful.  

No surprise then, that a plan to bring the ban outside from indoors has sparked anger among the pub trade’s advocates once again.  

Reem Ibrahim, acting director of communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs thinktank, said banning outdoor smoking would be “another nail in the coffin for the pub industry”. 

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She said: “The Government’s own impact assessment concluded that banning smoking outdoors will lead to pub closures and job losses. 

“Pubs and other private venues should be able to determine their own outdoor smoking rules – just as they should be allowed to decide whether to play music, serve food or show football on TV.” 

She added: “The Government should look to countries like Sweden, which has attained the lowest prevalence of smoking in the world not by implementing nanny state measures like this proposal, but by allowing adults to choose safer and healthier products.” 

Tim Martin, founder of JD Wetherspoon, told the PA news agency the proposed smoking ban raises a “libertarian issue”. 

He said: “The question is whether the Government should interfere in individual liberties where danger is involved. 

“Mountaineering is dangerous, for example. Horse riding, statistically, causes many serious injuries. I don’t think it will have a big effect on our business, one way or the other, and is really a libertarian issue.” 

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In 2006, the smoking ban in Scotland was seen as landmark legislation. Bringing it in before the rest of the UK was a sign that the Scottish Government – then called the Scottish ‘Executive’ and run by a Labour/Lib Dem coalition – could make big changes for the Scottish people on its own without Westminster’s say-so.  

It’s a high that the SNP, who took over shortly thereafter, have been chasing ever since, though their efforts – including introducing a minimum price for alcohol, the ‘named person’ child protection scheme and gender recognition reform - have been a mixed bag, with some now reduced to ashes.    

Asked about the proposal, John Swinney said the Scottish Government would "look with care" at the proposals. 

"We need to be constantly attentive to the steps that are necessary to protect and enhance public health.”

But would a ban have any impact? A look at what happened after the bar on smoking indoors gives a good indication.  

According to Glasgow University, before the smoking ban, the number of hospital admissions of children with asthma was increasing on average by five per cent each year in Scotland.  

In the three years after the ban, admissions decreased 18 per cent per year. 

Health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) also hailed the impact on the air people breath in the years following the introduction of smoke-free laws, estimating in 2016 that the adult Scottish population had inhaled at least 600kg fewer tiny, toxic, cancer-causing particles because of smoke-free pubs alone.  

And this is where the battle will be fought. Not on the erosion of civil liberties, as Tim Martin fears – but on the impact on public health.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, where they do love a Gitane or two, Sir Keir said: “My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking. 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.” 

He added: “I think it’s important to get the balance right, but everybody watching this who uses the NHS will know that it’s on its knees. 

“We have to relieve the burden, and that’s why I spoke before the election about moving to a preventative model when it comes to health.” 

Expect plenty more hot air on the subject before the smoke finally clears.