British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to expand the ban on the sale of tobacco so that eventually there will be smoke-free generations and the country could become smoke-free. A bill should restrict the sale of tobacco to young people.
Sunak made his statements at a party conference. “I propose that we increase the (legal) smoking age by one year every year in the future,” Sunak said. This means that “no cigarette should ever be sold to anyone who is fourteen years old or younger today.” According to the British Prime Minister, more action is needed to prevent young people from having their first cigarette in the first place.
In concrete terms, he wants to annually raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco in the future. This should be in combination with an initial ban on tobacco sales for anyone born after January 1, 2009. In addition, additional efforts must be made to make vapes less accessible to children.
New Zealand
If the ban is effective, the United Kingdom would have one of the strictest tobacco laws in the world. Today, only New Zealand has a law banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008.
“If we want to do the right thing for our children we must try to stop teenagers from lighting up a cigarette in the first place,” Sunak said. He cited that four out of five smokers started smoking before the age of 20. “Later the vast majority tries to quit. However, many fail because they are addicted. They wish they never started in the first place.” He wants to break that “cycle” by preventing the start.
“A matter of conscience”
The vote in parliament on the proposal will be “free”, i.e. without party directives. It is a “matter of conscience” for MPs, Sunak said.
Downing Street’s plans concern the part of England. “In this way, there is the potential to almost completely eliminate smoking among young people by 2040 at the earliest,” it said. After the statements, the shares of tobacco companies British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands lost ground.
Also read: Just like Herman Brusselmans, they stopped smoking after more than 50 years: “If my doctor says tomorrow that I don’t have much time left, I will start again” (+)
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