British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he supported the idea of banning smoking in some outdoor spaces, including pub gardens, as a way of reducing the pressure on the state-run National Health Service and the cost to taxpayers.

While precise details would be worked out later, Starmer said 80,000 people die each year from smoking and he wanted to reduce deaths from preventable diseases.

Asked if he supported a ban on smoking in some public places, including pub gardens, Starmer told Channel 4 News: “I want us to move to a smoke-free environment, want to reduce those preventable deaths. I want to reduce the burden on the NHS, desperately needed ... and obviously I want to reduce the burden on the taxpayer. So, yes, I am supportive.”

The government is considering a smoking ban in pub and restaurant gardens and ­terraces, outdoor sports stadiums, children’s parks and pavements near hospitals and universities, according to documents seen by The Sun newspaper.

Britain’s Centre-Left Labour Party, which won a general election last month, said in its campaign manifesto it planned to introduce some of the world’s strictest anti-smoking rules by banning younger people from smoking.

The previous Conservative government had announced similar measures but the plan failed to become law before the election was called.

Britain banned smoking in almost all enclosed public spaces, including bars and workplaces, in 2007. Cancer Research UK said this led to an estimated 1.9 million fewer smokers.