UK BANS SALE OF CIGARETTES TO CHILDREN UNDER 18

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By: Muftau fatimo

Both houses of the British Parliament have passed a bill that would permanently prohibit individuals aged 17 and under from purchasing cigarettes.

The proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill is designed to prevent anyone born on or after January 1, 2009—currently aged 17—from ever legally taking up smoking.

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the move as a “historic moment for the nation’s health,” adding that it would help create a “smoke-free generation” protected from addiction and long-term health risks.

Once it receives royal assent and becomes law, the legislation will also empower the government to expand smoking restrictions beyond indoor areas to include outdoor spaces such as children’s playgrounds and areas outside schools and hospitals.

It will also give the government new powers to restrict the flavours and packaging of vapes and ban vaping in places where smoking is already banned.

The bill is part of a drive to ramp up preventative health measures and ease long-term pressure on the UK’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS).

Hazel Cheeseman, director of public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), told LBC radio station that the bill was a “decisive turning point for public health”.

The Labour government in June last year introduced a ban on the sale of disposable vapes, which are cheap and come in colourful packaging that make them popular with young people.

New Zealand in 2022 became the first country to enact such a law against smoking, banning the sale of cigarettes to those born after 2008. But a newly elected conservative coalition repealed the law in November 2023, less than a year after it was introduced.

The Maldives in November last year banned the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 1, 2007.

Smoking in England causes around 75,000 deaths per year and is responsible for around a quarter of all deaths, according to the NHS.

AFP