Smoking ban: Everything To Know
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak aims to create a “smoke-free generation” by significantly reducing smoking-related deaths. The focus is on restricting the sale of cigarettes rather than the act of smoking itself.
What Is the Smoking Ban?
- The smoking ban primarily focuses on cigarette sales rather than the act of smoking itself.
- Each year, the legal age for purchasing cigarettes (currently 18) will increase by one year.
- People born in or after 2009 will also never be able to legally buy cigarettes.
- Existing smokers won’t be affected, but the new law aims to prevent a new generation from taking up smoking.
key points of the proposed smoking ban:
Gradual Increase in Legal Age for Cigarette Sales:
- Currently, the legal age for purchasing cigarettes in the UK is 18.
- Under the new law, each year, the legal age for cigarette sales will increase by one year.
- People born in or after 2009 will never be able to legally buy cigarettes.
Crackdown on Under-Age Tobacco and Vape Sales:
- To prevent under-age sales, the government will introduce £100 on-the-spot fines for shops in England and Wales that violate the law.
- Local authorities will retain the proceeds from fines to reinvest in enforcement efforts.
- This fine is in addition to the existing £2,500 fines that courts can impose.
Enforcement and Black Market Tackling:
- The government plans to spend £30 million on enforcement efforts.
- This includes addressing the availability of cigarettes on the black market.
- Duty-free shops in the UK will also adhere to the new rules.
Vaping Among Young People:
- The Tobacco and Vapes Bill also aims to tackle vaping among young people who have never smoked before.
- While vaping is less harmful than smoking, it is not risk-free.
- Health experts advise against vaping for those who do not already smoke.
Why the Ban?
- Smoking remains the number one preventable cause of death in the UK.
- It causes approximately 80,000 deaths annually and costs the NHS and also the economy an estimated £17 billion each year.
- Creating a smoke-free generation could prevent over 470,000 cases of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and other diseases by the end of the century.
Vaping Considerations:
- Vaping is too recent for long-term effects to be fully understood, but it is unlikely to be totally harmless.
- Health experts caution against vaping for non-smokers due to potential long-term damage to lungs, hearts, and brains.
Enforcement and Penalties
- To combat underage tobacco and vape sales, the government will introduce £100 on-the-spot fines for shops in England and Wales that violate the law.
- Local authorities will also retain the proceeds from fines to reinvest in enforcement efforts.
- Courts can already impose £2,500 fines for non-compliance.
- The government plans to allocate £30 million for enforcement, including tackling black market availability.
