The UK Parliament has passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will raise the legal buying age for tobacco by one year each year for people born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, creating a de facto lifetime ban for those cohorts. Vaping and nicotine products will face tighter controls, including bans on sales to under-18s and new limits on advertising, displays and discounts. Officials say the measures aim to reduce smoking-related illness and ease long-term pressure on the NHS.
UK Creates A 'Smoke-Free Generation' — Lifetime Ban On Cigarette Sales For Today's Under-18s
FILE PHOTO: A cigarette stub is seen in an ashtray on a street in Liverpool , northern England October 17 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
LONDON, April 22 — UK lawmakers have passed landmark legislation that will phase in a lifetime ban on legal cigarette purchases for children now aged 17 or younger and for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009.
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the minimum legal age to buy tobacco will increase by one year, every year, for cohorts born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, effectively preventing those groups from ever legally purchasing cigarettes. The bill is expected to receive royal assent next week.
The law also tightens rules on vaping and other nicotine products: it will ban sales to under-18s, restrict advertising and in-store displays, curb free giveaways and discounting, and give ministers powers to regulate flavours and packaging through secondary legislation.
"Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm," Health Secretary Wes Streeting said. "Prevention is better than cure — this reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain."
Official estimates attribute about 64,000 deaths and roughly 400,000 hospital admissions each year in England to smoking. The government says smoking costs the NHS about £3 billion (around $4 billion) annually, with wider economic costs exceeding £20 billion.
Tighter Rules On Vaping
Policymakers have increasingly focused on vaping amid concerns about youth uptake and nicotine addiction. The government moved last year to ban single-use disposable vapes over worries about youth use and environmental harm.
The new bill gives ministers clearer powers to regulate flavours, packaging and other product features for tobacco, vaping and nicotine products via secondary legislation. Health charity Action on Smoking and Health estimates around 10% of adults in Great Britain — about 5.5 million people — use vapes. About half of vapers are former smokers, while roughly 40% continue to both smoke and vape.
($1 = £0.7394)
Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Paul Sandle and Alex Richardson.
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