UK bill bans anyone born after 2008 from ever buying tobacco

A new bill approved in the United Kingdom’s legislature will stop people born on or after January 1, 2009 from buying tobacco during their whole lives, as part of a years-long effort by ministers to create a “smoke-free generation”.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Commons in 2024, aiming to protect public health and reduce the harm caused by smoking.

“This is a historic moment for the nation’s health as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill ends its journey through Parliament,” Streeting said on Tuesday.

“Prevention is better than cure. This reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain. Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” he added.

The bill will become law when it receives a royal assent next week. Once it does, ministers will also have new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including their flavours and packaging. They will also be able to ban nicotine products from being branded and advertised to children.

Vaping will also be prohibited in playgrounds, cars with children inside, outside schools and hospitals, in an effort to expand smoke-free zones across the UK.

Baroness Gillian Merron, parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department of Health and Social Care, told the Lords on Monday: “It is, in fact, the biggest public health intervention in a generation and I can assure all noble Lords it will save lives.”

Previous plans

The smoking ban was first introduced in 2023 by the then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government, as he planned to raise the legal age for buying tobacco by a year every year, so that eventually no one could buy tobacco.

The plan was put aside before the 2024 general election, and later revived by the Labour government.

According to The Guardian newspaper, smoking leads to 400,000 hospital admissions and 64,000 deaths a year in England alone and costs the National Health Service (NHS) 3 billion pounds (about $4bn) in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.

Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK party, previously promised to repeal the smoking ban if it won the next general election, describing the bill as “plainly idiotic”.

However, the bill was applauded by many health charities and campaign groups across the UK.

“This landmark piece of legislation will transform the nation’s health. A smoke-free future means the tobacco industry will no longer be able to wreak havoc on the lungs of the next generation,” Sarah Sleet, the chief executive of Asthma and Lung UK, said.