UK: Labour reintroduces ban on tobacco sales to people born after 2009

The UK's new Labour government will reintroduce plans to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after January 2009. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Bill, which received cross-party support in the last parliament, was included in the King's Speech on 17 July, which sets out the new government's priorities for the coming term.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government initially introduced a bill in March, but it failed to pass due to the UK general election in July 2024 leading to the Conservative Party’s defeat. More than 1,400 people, including doctors, academics, healthcare professionals and public health experts, have signed an open letter urging new Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reintroduce the bill.[1].

An unprecedented measure in the world

In his speech, King Charles has said that a bill will be introduced to gradually raise the age at which tobacco products can be sold to people. The bill will also include provisions to limit the sale and marketing of vaping devices and other nicotine products such as pouches, including by restricting attractive flavours and making packaging less appealing. The ban on disposable vapes will also be subject to regulation attached to environmental legislation. It is expected to be adopted shortly. Controls on the application of the ban on the sale of vaping products to children under the age of 18 will be strengthened. The powers of officers responsible for these controls will be extended to allow them to observe and fine on the spot any store manager caught red-handed.

The UK's smoking laws will be among the toughest in the world. The British approach follows a similar initiative first introduced in New Zealand but which was abandoned after a conservative government with ties to the tobacco lobby came to power.

The burden of smoking in the UK and high use of vaping products among teenagers

THE rate Smoking rates have fallen dramatically in the UK in recent decades to less than 13% of the population. However, the country continues to face high mortality rates attributable to smoking, particularly from cancer. A recent analysis by the charity Cancer Research UK highlighted that cases of smoking-related cancers are still increasing. According to the country's epidemiological data, some 160 smoking-related cancers are diagnosed every day. This is around 20 more cases per day than twenty years ago.[2]The impact of the reduction in tobacco consumption on mortality is certainly rapid on cardiovascular pathologies but its effects on the reduction in mortality from cancer and certain respiratory pathologies require more time, which explains this current gap between the reduction in consumption and the increase in mortality attributable to smoking.

Other public health concerns have emerged more recently: the use of vaping products is increasing rapidly, particularly among adolescents. In 2023, a survey[3] A study conducted by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that 20.5% of 11-17 year olds had tried vaping, compared to 15.8% in 2022 and 13.9% in 2020, and 7.6% of them are regular vapers. This compares with 3.6% who smoke regular cigarettes.

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[1] Rory O'Neill, UK's Labor to reintroduce tobacco ban, Politico, published July 17, 2024, accessed July 19, 2024

[2] Jacob Smith, Cancers caused by smoking reach all time high, Cancer Research UK, published 9 July 2024, accessed 19 July 2024

[3] Report, Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain, ASH UK, published June 2023, accessed 19 July 2024