Smokefree generation one step closer as bill introduced

Today the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was announced in Parliament. This Bill stands to be one of the most significant public health interventions in a generation.

The Bill will:

• Create the first smokefree generation by making it an offence for anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 to be sold tobacco products. Children turning 15 this year or younger can never legally be sold tobacco,  whilst not stopping anyone who current legally smokes from being able to do so.
• Crack down on youth vaping by providing powers to introduce regulations to restrict vape flavours, packaging and point of sale displays in retail outlets. We will apply the same restrictions to non-nicotine vapes and other consumer nicotine products like nicotine pouches.
• Clamp down on underage sales by bringing forward £100 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales, empowering trading standards officers to act ‘on the spot’ to tackle underage tobacco and vape sales.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability, and ill health. It leads to around 80,000 deaths a year in the UK, including one in four of all cancer deaths. It kills up to two-thirds of its long-term users. It costs the country £17 billion a year, including £14 billion lost to productivity alone. The Bill will ensure that children and young people never become addicted to smoking in the first place.

Vapes can be an effective tool to help smokers to quit. However, we have seen a rapid rise in youth vaping recently with around one in five 11-17-year-olds in Great Britain now having tried vaping and it is never recommended for children. Despite this, vapes are being deliberately targeted and marketed at them. The Bill will provide powers to allow Ministers to stop vapes from being deliberately targeted at children, while continuing to support adult smokers to quit.

You can find copies of the Bill, Explanatory Notes, Delegated Powers Memorandum and Impact Assessment here: Tobacco and Vapes Bill – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament

You can find explainer factsheets along with the Impact Assessment here: Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)