A new bill aimed at preventing today’s British children from ever legally purchasing cigarettes began its journey through Parliament on Tuesday, marking a significant step in the UK’s efforts to combat smoking.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is designed to reduce smoking-related deaths, which currently account for around 80,000 fatalities each year, by addressing the leading preventable cause of death and illness in the country.
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In addition, the bill proposes restrictions on smoking and vaping in outdoor spaces, including playgrounds and entrances to schools and hospitals. However, a proposed ban on smoking in pub beer gardens was removed after opposition from pub owners, reflecting a compromise in the scope of the legislation. Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged that the hospitality industry had “taken a real battering in recent years” and said it is not “the right time” to impose a smoking ban outside pubs.
The bill also aims to restrict vape flavors and ban brightly colored packaging aimed at children, in response to “a cynical industry that has sought to addict a new generation of children to nicotine,” according to Streeting.
Furthermore, the bill continues a plan from the previous Conservative government, which was ousted in the July general election, to gradually raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco by one year each year, ensuring that no one born after January 1, 2009, will ever be able to buy cigarettes. It is currently illegal to sell cigarettes, tobacco products, or vapes to those under 18.
If passed — which is expected due to the governing Labour Party’s large majority in Parliament — the bill will establish some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world.
The government described the bill as a measure that “breaks the cycle of addiction and paves the way for a smoke-free U.K.”
While the number of smokers in Britain has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, official figures show that about 6.4 million people, or approximately 13% of the population, still smoke.
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