https://www.bbc.com/news/health-68825322.amp So anyone born after the year 2009 will no longer legally be allowed to purchase cigarettes and vapes. Health wise, probably a great thing but won’t this generation just find a way of getting them anyway? Just like illegal drugs in the UK etc. Also, the tax on cigarettes would be lost to the government, whilst the pressure on the NHS could still remain high regardless…. The bill has been passed it seems and could be Sunaks legacy…… Article states: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak effectively wants to ban smoking in the UK. MPs have voted to back the government's plans to create a "smoke-free generation", and reduce the number of smoking-related deaths. What is the smoking ban? 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 who are allowed to buy cigarettes now. To crack down on under-age sales, the government says it will introduce £100 on-the-spot fines for shops in England and Wales which sell tobacco and vapes to under-age people. Local authorities will retain the proceeds to reinvest into enforcement of the law. This would be on top of £2,500 fines that courts can already impose. The government says it will spend £30m on enforcement, which will include tackling the availability of cigarettes on the black market. The new rules will apply in all duty free shops in the UK, but anyone buying cigarettes abroad would be able to bring them back to the UK as long as they were legally acquired elsewhere. The government aims to have the new system in force by 2027. Mr Sunak wants to work with the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to introduce the legislation across the UK. How bad is smoking, and how many deaths does it lead to? Cigarettes release thousands of different chemicals when they burn, including carbon monoxide, lead, and ammonia. Many components of tobacco are poisonous, and up to 70 cause cancer. Smoking is also linked to other serious illnesses, including lung disease, heart disease and strokes. It can affect fertility and pregnancy. 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, According to the government, creating a "smoke-free generation" could prevent more than 470,000 cases of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other diseases by the end of the century.
