Smoking Ban Introduced to Protect Children and Most Vulnerable

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the biggest public health intervention since the ban on smoking in public places in 2007 has been introduced to parliament today. The Bill will put us on track to a smoke-free UK, saving thousands of lives, and begin the immense task of fixing our broken health system and rebuilding our economy.

The Bill is a key pillar of the Government’s Health Mission to help people stay healthier for longer, reduce the number of premature deaths from the biggest killers like cancer, and raise the healthiest generation of children in our history.

The Bill will:

• Create a smoke-free generation, gradually ending the sale of tobacco products across the country and breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.
• strengthen the existing ban on smoking in public places to reduce the harms of passive smoking, particularly around children and vulnerable people.
• ban vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.
• provide powers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes and nicotine products in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and expand the retailer registration scheme in Scotland.
• It will also strengthen enforcement activity to support the implementation of the above measures.

The Bill has been strengthened and there are several new measures outlined below.

A Smoke-Free Generation 

Tobacco is a uniquely harmful product, responsible for 1-in-4 of all cancer deaths and killing up to two-thirds of its long-term users.

Almost 12% of the population smoke and someone is admitted to hospital because of smoking almost every minute – up to 75,000 GP appointments are attributed to smoking every month.  In a YouGov poll in April 2024, 71% of adults supported the goal of a smoke-free Britain.

The Bill will create a smoke-free generation and change the age of sale so that anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be sold any tobacco product, cigarette papers and herbal smoking products.

Strengthen Existing Smoke-Free Legislation  

No smoker wants to harm people, but with second-hand smoke they do – and the only way to stop that is to stop smoking around others.

The science tells us three things about second-hand smoking:

1. it poses a risk to your health even outdoors;
2. it is particularly dangerous for vulnerable people like children, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing but usually invisible health conditions such as asthma and heart disease; and
3. in some public settings exposure to it can be high – if you can smell smoke, you are inhaling it.

The Bill contains powers to expand current indoor smoking restrictions to outdoor public places and workplaces in England and enables the Devolved Governments to extend smoke-free places in their countries. Exactly which settings should become smoke-free will be a matter for secondary legislation and will be subject to a full consultation.

The Bill also provides powers for the UK government and Devolved Governments to make places vape-free and heated tobacco-free, insofar as they are smoke-free places. Vape usage is already prohibited in many places and, as with smoke-free places, proposals for any restrictions will be subject to full public consultation.

Ban the Promotion and Advertising of Vapes and Nicotine Products

Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes as they do not contain tobacco and can help adult smokers to quit. However, due to the negative health effects that vapes can pose they should not be used by children or adults that do not smoke. While selling vapes to under 18s is already illegal, vapes are still marketed to children, and youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years with a staggering 25% of 11 to 15-year-olds having tried vaping as of 2023.

There is clear public support to tackle this issue. A 2023 YouGov survey found that 75% of adults in Great Britain support banning the names of sweets, cartoons and bright colours on vape packaging.

The Bill includes strong measures to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes (and nicotine products) to children. It will ban the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of vapes and nicotine products, mirroring the effective restrictions on tobacco. The legislation will close loopholes and ban all vapes and nicotine products from being sold to under 18s and ban the sale of these products from vending machines.

The Bill will provide powers to regulate vape (and other nicotine products) flavours, packaging, and product standards, as well as regulate the display in shops. Proposals to use these regulation-making powers are subject to a statutory duty for consultation. In addition to the measures in the Bill, disposable vapes play a significant role in driving youth vaping and on October 24^th, DEFRA laid regulations in Parliament to end the sale and supply of disposable vapes. In the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Chancellor also announced the introduction of a new duty on vapes from 2026 onwards to make them less accessible to young people and non-smokers.

Enforcement 

The Bill will strengthen enforcement activity to prevent the underage sale of tobacco and vapes and stop retailers from breaking the law. Enforcement authorities in England and Wales will have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £200 for the underage sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, alongside other breaches of tobacco and vape regulations. A higher value Fixed Penalty Notice of £2,500 will be available for offences in relation to licensing.

The new Fixed Penalty Notices will strengthen the system of existing penalties, allowing on-the-spot fines when appropriate, without needing to go to court. Scotland and Northern Ireland already have Fixed Penalty Notice regimes in place for underage sales, which will be updated by this Bill to capture all tobacco, vaping and nicotine products and new offences.

The Bill will also provide powers to introduce a dedicated licensing regime for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and will extend the existing retail registration scheme in Scotland to cover these products. The use of these regulation-making powers will be subject to further consultation.

Other Measures in the Bill 

The Bill modifies, amends, extends, and re-enacts several existing tobacco and vaping control measures to create a consistent UK-wide legislative framework.

You can find copies of the Bill, Explanatory Notes and the Delegated Powers Memorandum here