The government has announced that those born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be able to buy cigarettes.
The law will stop children who turn 14 this year or younger from buying cigarettes. Effectively, the legal age to buy cigarettes will rise one year every year.
Proposed new legislation will make it an offence for anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 to be sold tobacco products.
Four in five smokers start before the age of 20, it is hoped that by stopping young people from smoking, an entire generation will be protected from the harms of smoking.
Smoking is also the UK's biggest preventable killer, leading to 64,000 deaths a year in England and causing around 1 in 4 cancer deaths.
Almost one hospital admission a minute are attributable to smoking and 75,000 GP appointments a month are in relation to a smoking-related illness.
The government has reported that smoking costs the economy £17 billion a year, through smoking-related lost earnings, unemployment, early deaths and costs to the NHS.
It is hoped that the new legislation will mean up to 1.7 million fewer people smoke by 2075, tens of thousands of lives will be saved, the health and care system will save billions of pounds and the economy would be boosted by up to £85 billion by 2075.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said: "No parent ever wants their child to start smoking. It is a deadly habit – killing tens of thousands of people and costing our NHS billions each year, while also being hugely detrimental to our productivity as a country.
"I want to build a better and brighter future for our children, so that’s why I want to stamp out smoking for good. These changes will mean our kids will never be able to buy a cigarette, preventing them getting hooked and protecting their health both now and in the future.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer, said: "Smoking damages many lives. It causes stillbirths, asthma in children, heart disease, stroke and dementia in addition to causing most lung cancer and increasing risk of many other cancers.
"Becoming addicted to cigarettes in early life is one of the worst things that can happen for future health. Preventing people becoming addicted to smoking, and helping those who smoke to quit are two of the most important measures we can take to improve health.
The government has also announced an intention to consult on plans to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children.
The consultation will investigate restricting the flavours and descriptions of vapes so that vape flavours are no longer targeted at children – we want to ensure this is done in a way that continues to support adult smokers to switch and regulating point of sale displays in retail outlets so that vapes are kept out of sight from children and away from products that appeal to them, such as sweets.
It will also look at regulating vape packaging and product presentation, ensuring that neither the device nor its packaging is targeted to children, and restricting the sale of disposable vapes, which are clearly linked to the rise in vaping in children. These products are not only attractive to children but also incredibly harmful to the environment.
Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: "Smoking kills, places a huge burden on the NHS and costs the economy billions every year.
"Through this landmark step we will protect our children, grandchildren and the health service from the dangers of smoking long into the future.
"And while vaping is an effective tool for adults quitting smoking, we are determined to tackle the concerning surge in children vaping, driven by marketing and flavouring which appears to specifically target young people."
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: "Smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable death and costs the NHS billions of pounds each year. Almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital because of smoking.
"This is a momentous public health intervention and we welcome the government’s bold and ambitious action which will lead to longer and healthier lives. A smokefree generation will relieve an enormous burden on our NHS.
"Stop smoking services help hundreds of thousands of people every year quit for good. With double the funding - now £140 million – even more people will be able to access this free service to kick the habit once and for all."
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
