In a bid to curb the national smoking habit, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently proposed progressively increasing the legal age to purchase cigarettes in England. The Prime Minister envisions a time when cigarettes will no longer be legally available, thereby nurturing a generation of young people free from the shackles of smoking.
In discussing his plans at the annual Conservative Party conference, Sunak expressed his desire to deter teenagers from picking up their first cigarette. Currently, the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18 is illegal across the UK.
According to Sunak’s vision, the proposed age increment would place a barrier for children turning 14 this year, and those younger, protecting them from the risk of legally obtaining cigarettes in England. Nevertheless, the legal change, if approved by Parliament, would only be applicable in England, leaving the smoking laws of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales unaffected.
“Four in five smokers start their habits young, before they turn 20. If we can halt initiation, we could pave the way towards eliminating the primary source of preventable death and disease in our nation,” the Prime Minister explained. Despite not intending to criminalize smoking, the phasing of these changes would guard against those who can legally buy cigarettes now from being prohibited in the future.
Over the past fifty-odd years, the UK has seen the number of smokers fall by two-thirds, leaving around 13% or 6.4 million people as remaining smokers. The planned increase in the lawful smoking age follows up on the push from nearly adolescence in 2007 when tobacco’s legal age of sale was raised from 16 to 18 resulting in a 30% reduction of smokers among 16 and 17-year-olds.
The proposed plan was greeted with enthusiasm by health experts, some of whom regard the ‘smoke-free generation’ legislation as the defining legacy of the government. The measures are akin to those introduced in New Zealand the previous year.
The UK government is not just focusing on traditional tobacco products. Prime Minister Sunak revealed plans to limit the availability of vapes and e-cigarettes to underage individuals. Despite the current ban on selling vapes to individuals under 18, officials worry about the tripling increase in youth vaping over the past three years. Measures under consideration include the regulation of flavoured vapes, packaging, and store displays to make these products less appealing to the younger demographic.
The announcement prompted tobacco firm shares to plummet, with British American Tobacco, owners of Dunhill and Lucky Strike, experiencing a decline of 1%, and Imperial Brands seeing a 2.4% decrease following Sunak’s address.
