Ministers’ ambition to make the UK smoke free by 2030 will be outlined in a ‘radical’ report set to be published later this year by Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Despite the government having made good progress in reducing smoking rates to their lowest ever level, there are still around six million smokers in England and tobacco remains the single biggest cause of preventable death.
The report, titled The Tobacco Control Plan, will argue that the legal age to buy cigarettes should be increased from 18 to 21, noting that 64,000 smokers died from smoking in 2019 alone.
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Commissioned by Javid, the report will also back new taxes on the profits of tobacco companies, according to the Express.
Javed Khan, former CEO of children’s charity Barnardo’s, drew up the report and is supportive of the ‘polluters pay’ ideal that would see tobacco companies cover the costs of anti-smoking policies.
A source told the paper: “The stance [Khan] has taken in meetings I’ve had with him has been quite radical."
Khan is reportedly also keen to raise the legal smoking age to 25, but it’s unlikely this will be pushed past 21.
The government is also keen to make vaping and e-cigarettes more accessible.
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As much as £700 million could be raised annually by increasing taxes on tobacco companies and this would mean e-cigarettes can be provided to smokers on the NHS.
The insider continued: "Sajid Javid is interested in health inequality and he is interested in tackling public health issues, but the Government is in hock to right-wing MPs. On tobacco, they are still nervous about some kind of nanny state attack.”
Khan said: "I am very pleased to be leading this review into such an important area of public health. My independent findings will help highlight key interventions which can help the government achieve its ambitions to be smoke-free by 2030 and tackle health disparities."
LADbible has approached Javid for comment.
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Smoking among people aged 18-30 jumped by 25 percent during the first lockdown according to the Office for National Statistics.
Speaking earlier this month, Khan confirmed he was considering recommending a smoking legal age increase.
He told The Times: “We are thinking seriously about the age of sale."
Making comparisons with the pandemic, he added: "Just look at the Covid experience, mass marketing has a big effect, it really works.
"The government went hell for leather, it made an enormous difference in vaccination rates."
Aisha Nozari