Labour will bring back Rishi Sunak’s plan to stop anyone aged 14 or younger from ever legally buying cigarettes. Why has this approach been suggested, how would it work, and is it feasible?
17 July 2024
By Josephine Franks, Sky News
This legislation will be rolled up in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will also limit the sale and advertising of vapes.
MPs voted to support the ban in April, with Labour backing the bill in the House of Commons.
Under the proposed smoking ban, a 14-year-old today will never legally be able to buy a cigarette.
If the ban is passed into law in England, the country will have some of the strictest smoking laws in the world.
How would the ban work, why has it been suggested, and is it feasible?
How would the ban work?
Under the proposed ban, someone who was born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be allowed to buy tobacco.
It would effectively raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year every year, until it applies to the whole population.
“A 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and… they and their generation can grow up smoke-free,” Rishi Sunak told the annual Tory party conference last year.
Smoking will not be criminalised and the phased approach means anyone who can legally buy cigarettes now will not be prevented from doing so.
However, older people may have to carry ID if they want to buy cigarettes in the future.
Will the ban stop young people smoking?
There is “excellent evidence” increasing the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18 in the UK “substantially reduced smoking prevalence”, according to Jamie Brown, professor of behavioural science at University College London (UCL).
“This provides good reason to expect this measure to have a similar impact,” he said.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said the ban was “creeping prohibition” and would not work.
“Anyone who wants to smoke will buy tobacco abroad or from illicit sources,” he said.
Are there any similar bans around the world?
New Zealand passed a similar ban, but it was repealed by the country’s new coalition government before it came into force.
Mr Sunak has said the New Zealand U-turn would not change his mind.
How much of the population will be affected by the ban?
In 2022, 12.9% of the adult UK population – 6.4 million people – were current smokers, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Based on the ONS population projections, 21% of the UK population is currently not allowed to buy cigarettes due to their age.
Assuming the age of sale rises to 19 in 2027, and increases by one year every year after that, the proportion of the population below the age of sale will reach 30% in 2035, 40% in 2044 and 50% in 2053.
The ban only covers England – what about the other UK nations?
The legal smoking age is a devolved issue, so the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own laws around it.
Scotland’s public health minister Jenni Minto told Sky News “we know there is strong support to raise the age of sale of tobacco products in Scotland”.
Evidence on that will feed into Scotland’s refreshed Tobacco Action Plan, due to be published later this year, she said.
Depending on what laws Scotland and Wales adopt, there could be a situation where is it illegal for someone to buy cigarettes in England, but they could cross the border to do so.
Wales and Northern Ireland have not said whether they would adopt Mr Sunak’s policy, but have been contacted by Sky News for comment.
Why has the ban been proposed?
The aim of the ban is to stop people smoking before they even start.
Four in five smokers start before the age of 20, with many remaining addicted for the rest of their lives.
Smoking is the UK’s biggest preventable killer, causing around one in four cancer deaths and leading to 64,000 deaths per year in England, according to Dr Javed Khan’s 2022 review into making smoking obsolete.
It is hoped the plans will prevent tens of thousands of deaths and save the NHS billions of pounds.
Downing Street said it expects that the plans will mean up to 1.7 million fewer people smoking by 2075.
What are the next steps?
In the King’s Speech at the opening of the new parliament, Labour laid out its plans to introduce a Tobacco and Vapes Bill this year.
It will impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes as well as progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes.
If the government wants to stop people smoking, why not just ban cigarettes?
Banning tobacco outright would not immediately stop the UK’s 6.4 million smokers from smoking, Dr Sarah Jackson from UCL explains.
“Because cigarettes are so highly addictive, many people would be unable or unwilling to do so, and a ban would likely drive demand towards the illicit market,” she said.
“Gradually increasing the age of sale over time… will be helpful in discouraging young people from taking up smoking in the first place.”
What about vaping?
The government has also said it will crack down on vaping among children.
The government said vaping is “rightly” used as a tool to quit smoking, but added: “The health advice is clear, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape and children should never vape”.
A consultation will be brought forward looking at balancing the needs of quitting smokers with protecting young people.
It will look at restricting the sale of disposable vapes, which the government said are “clearly linked” to the rise in youth vaping.
Flavours could also be restricted, while tighter regulations may be brought in for packaging and point-of-sale displays.
The ONS reported a rise in vaping among young people, with 15.5% of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting vaping daily or on occasion in 2022, up from 11.1% in 2021.