United Kingdom (U.K.) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is proposing a generational smoking ban. Under the proposed law, anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, would be prohibited from buying tobacco products.
Currently, the legal age to purchase tobacco products in the U.K. is age 18, but under the proposed law, those who reach age 18 by 2027 will no longer have the right to purchase products. In essence, this implements the prohibition of tobacco products to anyone who is younger than 14 as of January 1, 2009, at any time in the future.
“No parent ever wants their child to start smoking. It is a deadly habit – killing tens of thousands of people and costing our NHS billions each year, while also being hugely detrimental to our productivity as a country,” commented Prime Minister Sunak in a statement.
“I want to build a better and brighter future for our children, so that’s why I want to stamp out smoking for good. These changes will mean our kids will never be able to buy a cigarette, preventing them getting hooked and protecting their health both now and in the future,” added Prime Minster Sunak.
While the Prime Minister used the term cigarettes, the proposed ban is for all tobacco products. The Premium Cigar Association recently issued a statement in opposition to this initiative.
Late in 2022, New Zealand passed a generational smoking ban into law.
