Government announces smoking ban for people born after 2009
The government has introduced a bill into parliament which if passed would effectively ban smoking for anyone born after 2009.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would rule that children turning 15 this year and any younger would never legally be able to be sold tobacco.
In essence this would set a new legal limit on the age of people allowed to smoke and raise it by a year every year, meaning that subsequent generations will never be allowed to buy tobacco products.
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The bill won't make smoking a criminal act and anyone who can legally buy tobacco right now will still be able do so, it's just that the legal ladder would be pulled up after them to stop the youth of today and future generations from huffing and puffing away on tobacco.
As the bill's name suggests, it'll also be taking aim at vaping as well as tobacco smoking, and will bring in new powers to restrict vape flavours and packaging deemed to be aimed at children.
The government will have the power to change how vapes are displayed in shops, meaning they can be moved out of sight of children and away from products like sweets.
While the long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown, they do contain highly addictive nicotine, and there have been people who have said vaping has been hazardous to their health.
Generally seen as healthier than cigarettes, vaping is nonetheless not a healthy thing to be doing.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is somewhat similar to a measure which was supposed to come into effect in July in New Zealand as it would have banned anyone born after 1 January 2009 from buying tobacco.
However, after New Zealand's general election last year, the new government changed course.
They said they still wanted to reduce smoking, but the ban on younger generations being able to buy tobacco products was dropped.
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, would-be powers would be granted to police to issue 'on the spot' fines of £100 for selling tobacco products and vapes to people who are underage, to go along with the fines of £2,500 which local authorities can impose.
Giving free samples of vapes to people who are under 18 will also be made illegal.
Another piece of legislation the government is working on is a ban on disposable vapes from April 2025 onwards, with concerns that nine percent of children aged between 11 and 15 were vaping.
It is hoped that cutting down on smoking would help save the country money.
Dr Javed Khan, who conducted an inquiry into smoking in England, claimed the annual cost of smoking to society was about £17 billion, with the NHS shouldering £2.4 billion of those costs.
Speaking about the bill which has been introduced to parliament, prime minister Rishi Sunak said: "If we want to build a better future for our children we need to tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death: smoking.
"That is why, alongside new measures to curb the alarming rise in youth vaping, we are delivering on our commitment to create a smoke free generation and stop our kids from getting hooked on harmful cigarettes and other nicotine products.
"This important change will save thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS, freeing up new resource than can be spent to improve outcomes patients right across the UK."
England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: "Smoking causes harm across the life course.
"This includes stillbirth, asthma, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 15 different types of cancer, stroke and dementia.
"If passed this will be a major public health measure which reduce illness, disability, and premature deaths for children today and future generations."
Meanwhile, health secretary Victoria Atkins said: "Smoking kills. It takes around 80,000 lives in the UK every year and causes one in four cancer-related deaths.
"It’s therefore only right we take robust action to protect future generations from these harmful products.
"Today is a significant milestone, representing the single biggest preventable health policy in a generation with a first-of-its-kind bill aimed at preventing our children and young people from falling prey to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
"This landmark legislation will ensure generations to come will have healthier lives, while freeing up NHS capacity by removing the huge pressure caused by smoking-related illness."
Joe Harker