UK pushes for 'cigarette removal law' to ban tobacco purchases for people born after 2009

The U.K. has been receiving a lot of attention with the introduction of a new Tobacco Control Act, which will ban people born after January 1, 2009, from being able to buy cigarettes. The law was proposed by Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, who successfully passed the middle gate of the House of Commons about six months after it was announced at the Conservative National Convention.

 

 

 

The key to the Tobacco Control Act is to make it impossible for people born after 2009 to buy cigarettes in the UK. The bill plans to increase the available age for tobacco purchases by one year from 2027, gradually increasing the number of non-purchasing age groups. It also imposes a £100 fine on stores that illegally sell cigarettes and limits the sale of products targeting teenagers.

 

The government claims that the bill will greatly contribute to the prevention of smoking-related diseases, such as heart disease and lung cancer, and will save many lives. Currently, about 13 percent of the people in the UK are smokers, and it is estimated that about 80,000 people die each year from smoking.

 

However, opposition to the bill is also strong within the Conservative Party. Fifty-seven Conservative MPs voted against it, with 106 abstaining. Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have criticized it as an attempt to become a "health cop," restricting individual freedoms. Industry Minister Kemi Badnock has pointed out that the burden of law enforcement is passed on to the private sector and goes against the principle of equality.

 

Despite the objections, the bill is set to pass through the House of Commons for a final vote in the Senate, which is expected to take place as early as mid-June. It remains unclear whether the bill will be finalized, but the British government seems to be actively encouraging it to quit smoking.