MPs have backed the Government’s plans to create a “smoke-free generation” – but do you agree with banning cigarette sales for under 16s?
The restrictions will apply to the sale of cigarettes in the UK rather than the act of smoking itself. Under the new law, each year the legal age for cigarette sales – currently 18 – will increase by one year.
It means that people born in or after 2009 will never be able to legally buy cigarettes, leading to an effective ban. The law will not affect those able to buy cigarettes now.
The Government hopes to crack down on underage sales, introducing £100 on-the-spot fines for shops in England and Wales that sell tobacco and vapes to underage people.
Local authorities will retain the proceeds to reinvest in enforcement of the law.
The Government aims to have the ban in place by 2027, with the aim being reducing cigarette related deaths. Cigarettes release thousands of different chemicals when they burn, including carbon monoxide, lead, and ammonia.
The Government says it is still the number one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health, causing around 80,000 deaths per year across the UK, and costing the NHS and the economy an estimated £17bn every year.
Creating a “smoke free generation” could prevent more than 470,000 cases of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other diseases – according to the Government.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill also aims to tackle vaping among young people who have never smoked before.
