GovWire

The government is set to introduce a historic new law to stop children who turn 14 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes in England, in a bid to create the first smokefreegeneration.

Proposed new legislation will make it an offence for anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 to be sold tobacco products effectively raising the smoking age by a year each year until it appliesto the whole population. This has the potential to phase out smoking in young people almost completely as early as 2040.

Smoking is highly addictive, with 4 in 5 smokers starting before the age of 20 and remaining addicted for the rest of their lives. By stopping young people from ever starting to smoke, the governmentwill protect an entire generation of young people from the harms of smoking as they grow older.

Smoking is the UKs biggest preventable killer causing around 1 in 4 cancer deaths and leading to 64,000 deaths per year in England. It puts huge pressure on the NHS, with almost one hospitaladmission every minute attributable to smoking and up to 75,000 GP appointments each month taken up by smoking-related illness.

It is also one of the biggest drivers of health inequalities across the country deaths from smoking are more than two times higher in the most deprived local authorities, where more people smoke,compared to the most affluent. Smoking rates in pregnancy also vary hugely, with as many as 20% of pregnant women smoking in some parts of the country increasing the chance of stillbirth by almost 50%.

Smoking also costs the economy 17 billion a year, through smoking related lost earnings, unemployment, early deaths and costs to the NHS.

These changes amount to one of the most significant public health interventions by the government in a generation. If the government does not act, the independent review published in 2022 estimatedthat nearly half a million people will die from smoking by 2030.

More broadly it is expected to mean up to 1.7 million fewer people smoke by 2075 saving tens of thousands of lives, saving the health and care system billions of pounds and boosting the economyby up to 85 billion by 2075. It would also avoid up to 115,000 cases of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases.

Smoking will not be criminalised, and our phased approach means anyone who can legally buy cigarettes now will not be prevented from doing so in future.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

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 ourproductivity as a country.

I want to build a better and brighter future for our children, so thats why I want to stamp out smoking for good. These changes will mean our kids will never be able to buy a cigarette, preventingthem getting hooked and protecting their health both now and in the future.

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer, said:

Smoking damages many lives. It causes stillbirths, asthma in children, heart disease, stroke and dementia in addition to causing most lung cancer and increasing risk of many other cancers.

Becoming addicted to cigarettes in early life is one of the worst things that can happen for future health. Preventing people becoming addicted to smoking, and helping those who smoke to quitare two of the most important measures we can take to improve health.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

Smoking kills, places a huge burden on the NHS and costs the economy billions every year.

Through this landmark step we will protect our children, grandchildren and the health service from the dangers of smoking long into the future.

And while vaping is an effective tool for adults quitting smoking, we are determined to tackle the concerning surge in children vaping, driven by marketing and flavouring which appears to specificallytarget young people.

The government has also today announced a further major crackdown on youth vaping, by announcing an intention to consult on plans to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children.

Vaping is rightly used by adults as a tool to quit smoking, but the health advice is clear if you dont smoke, dont vape and children should never vape. It is already illegal for children tovape but in a worrying trend, youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and more children now vape than smoke.

To ensure we get the balance right between protecting our children and supporting adult smokers to quit the government will bring forward a consultation.

The consultation will look at:

• Restricting theflavoursanddescriptionsof vapes so that vape flavours are no longer targeted at children we want to ensure this is done in a way that continues to support adult smokers to switch.
• Regulatingpoint of saledisplays in retail outlets so that vapes are kept out of sight from children and away from products that appeal to them, such as sweets.
• Regulating vapepackagingandproduct presentation, ensuring that neither the device nor its packaging is targeted to children.
• Restricting the sale of disposable vapes, which are clearly linked to the rise in vaping in children. These products are not only attractive to children but also incredibly harmful to the environment.

We will also closeloopholes in the lawwhich allow children to get free samples and buy non-nicotine vapes.

Enforcement activity will also be strengthened, with an investment of 30 million to support agencies such as local trading standards, HMRC and Border Force to take action to stop underage salesand tackle the import of illicit tobacco and vaping products at the border.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said:

Smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable death and costs the NHS billions of pounds each year. Almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital because of smoking.

This is a momentous public health intervention and we welcome the governments bold and ambitious action which will lead to longer and healthier lives. A smokefree generation will relieve anenormous burden on our NHS.

Stop smoking services help hundreds of thousands of people every year quit for good. With double the funding - now 140 million even more people will be able to access this free service tokick the habit once and for all.

Cancer Research UKs Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell OBE, said:

Raising the age of sale on tobacco products is a critical step on the road to creating the first ever smokefree generation. The Prime Minister deserves great credit for putting the health ofits citizens ahead of the interests of the tobacco lobby. Investing more in stop smoking services is essential for the nation.

Smoking places huge pressure on the NHS and the economy with over 500,000 hospital admissions every year in England attributable to smoking.

We will support the UK Government to quickly implement legislation to raise the age of sale, alongside their investment of more money in stop smoking services.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said:

Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, needlessly taking many lives prematurely.

We welcome this important initiative from the Prime Minister to limit its damage to the health and well-being of our nation.

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said:

The Prime Minister has today announced an unprecedented set of measures to protect the next generation and hasten the day when smoking is obsolete.

Children are four times as likely to start smoking if they grow up with smokers, and once they do its highly addictive and difficult to quit.

The twin track approach of raising the age of sale and tougher enforcement to stop young people starting, matched by substantial additional funding to motivate addicted smokers to quit and provi

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