Rishi Sunak considering 'outlawing' tobacco for next generation
The proposed changes would come into force in 2026
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering to bring in some of the toughest anti-smoking legislations in the world.
Downing Street did not deny reports on Friday (September 22nd) that the Prime Minister was considering the new policy which would effectively ban cigarettes for younger people.
In a potentially drastic change in policy, the new position if accepted would steadily increase the legal age for consuming tobacco products.
The stance, if given the go ahead, would be a similar approach to that of New Zealand, which is planning to gradually raise the legal smoking age in order to stop tobacco consumption among younger people.
A major review in the government's fight against nicotine led by Dr Javed Khan gave its backing to a similar proposal to implement in the UK.
Dr Khan suggested "increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no-one can buy a tobacco product in this country".
The ban would reportedly come into effect in 2026, with people born after January 1st, 2009 never being able to buy cigarettes.
Therefore, anyone aged 15 or under today would be banned from purchasing tobacco products, in a major shift away from smoking.
In April, Health Minister Neil O'Brien looked to reject the proposal, adding that the Government was turning its attention to "helping people quit" instead of enforcing bans.
But officials working at No. 10 were hesitant to dispel the accusations that a tougher stance on smoking was being considered.
Sunak was also looking to try different methods in order to reach England's target to be smoke-free by the year 2030.
Dr Khan believed in his Government-backed report published in June of 2022 that under current guidelines, England would miss its target by an average of seven years, with the poorest areas of the country reaching the milestone by 2044.
He added that the overall costs of smoking to the NHS currently stand anywhere between ÂŁ17 billion and ÂŁ24 billion.
Current guidelines to smokers looking to quit include swapping from cigarettes to vapes, as the NHS rolls out its 'Swap to Stop' scheme, providing smokers with a free vape kit to start their journey.
In a statement, a spokesman for the UK Government said: "Smoking is a deadly habit, it kills tens of thousands of people each year and places a huge burden on the NHS and the economy.
"We want to encourage more people to quit and meet our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, which is why we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates".