Britain aims to create a “smoke-free generation” by permanently banning the sale or supply of tobacco and vape products to anyone born in 2009 or later, a measure approved by Parliament on Tuesday.
The bill currently applies to people 17 years of age or younger and aims to prevent them from taking up the habit at any time in their lifetime. The proposal is expected to go into law soon after the final formality of approval by King Charles III.
Lawmakers say that in practice, the measure means the age for selling tobacco products will increase over time as the targeted demographic group gets older and a smoke-free society may be created. This law will apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
People covered by the law “will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from addiction and harm throughout their lives.” Health Secretary Wes Streeting saidOn Tuesday. “Prevention is better than cure.”
The legislation includes new licensing and registration requirements for retailers and product information mandates, advertising and promotion controls, and further restrictions on smoking and vaping in public places. It hopes to prevent the use of tobacco products, describing them as “Main underlying drivers of ill health,” and to reduce the pressure on Britain’s publicly funded health care system from smoking-related diseases.
The bill, which was first proposed in 2024, is one of the few generational smoking bans gaining popularity around the world. Last year, a law was enacted banning tobacco for anyone born in or after 2007 came into effect In Maldives.
New Zealand implements the world’s first generational smoking ban in 2022. It was praised by public health officials and criticized by retailers and the tobacco industry, and was abolished under a new government the next year.
The fate of the New Zealand law, which some of its supporters say resulted in murder Impact of tobacco industryThis could signal similar struggles ahead for Britain’s smoking cessation efforts.
In 2024, the UK Office for National Statistics reported that 5.3 million people aged 18 or over smoked, accounting for more than 10 percent of adults in the United Kingdom. According to the Department of Health and Social Care, smoking is responsible for 64,000 deaths each year in the UK, making it the leading preventable cause of death, disability and ill health in the country.
Overall, smoking costs the UK around $29 billion annually, according to the government, including lost productivity and health care costs. The Department of Health said smoking also has socio-economic impacts and increases health inequalities, noting that 500,000 families are “living in poverty” due to the expense of tobacco.
A report on the smoking habits of adults in Britain to 2024 by the Office for National Statistics showed that three-quarters of smokers wished they had never started smoking and most wanted to quit. Citing those statistics, the Health Department said in its assessment of the generational ban bill, “Addiction is not a choice.”
