The UK government is taking significant steps to protect young people from the dangers of smoking. They are planning to pass a new law that will stop kids who are 14 years old or younger from buying cigarettes in England. The government’s goal is to create a generation of young people who don’t smoke.
Under this new law, it will be against the rules to sell cigarettes to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. The age for buying cigarettes will go up by one year each year until it covers everyone. If this plan works, it could mean that almost no young people will start smoking by the year 2040.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak supports this idea. He said that no parent wants their child to start smoking because it’s a harmful habit. Smoking causes a lot of deaths, costs the healthcare system a lot of money, and makes the country less productive.
Mr. Sunak wants to make sure that kids can’t buy cigarettes, which will protect their health now and in the future.
Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in the UK. It is responsible for one in four cancer deaths and causes 64,000 deaths every year in England alone. Smoking also leads to many hospital visits and doctor appointments.
People who smoke during pregnancy can put their babies at risk. In some parts of the UK, as many as 20% of pregnant women smoke, and this increases the chances of stillbirth by almost half.
Smoking is also expensive for the country. It costs the UK £17 billion each year due to lost earnings, unemployment, early deaths, and healthcare costs.
These changes are one of the most significant things the government has done to improve public health in a long time.
