UK lawmakers will vote on Tuesday, the 16th of April, on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bill to ban the purchase of cigarettes and vapes by 15-year-olds. Sunak’s plan is likely to be approved but has been criticised by some members of his own Conservative Party, including former prime ministers Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, who oppose state interference in personal lifestyle choices, reports Reuters.
Rishi Sunak’s bill aims to create the first non-smoking generation in the UK.
The Tobacco and Vapes bill aims to prevent children born after 2009 from ever being able to legally buy tobacco,
making it illegal to sell tobacco products to young people rather than smoking.
Legislators will be given a so-called free vote on the bill, which means they will not have to vote along party lines. A similar law in New Zealand was scrapped earlier this year by the new coalition government before it came into force.
Sunak has stated that the bill aims to tackle “the biggest single cause of entirely preventable ill health, disability and death”.
The initiative is strongly supported by medical and health experts and charities, who point out that smoking causes 80 000 deaths and many more smoking-related illnesses in the UK every year.
Tory MP Simon Clarke, who previously served in the Truss and Johnson cabinets, spoke to BBC Radio against the proposed ban. He expressed concern that the ban could inadvertently make
smoking more attractive, create a black market and create challenges for the authorities when it came to enforcement.
Despite the criticism, the law is expected to pass, with Labour indicating that it will support the initiative. If approved on Tuesday, the bill will move to the next stage in Parliament.
According to the BBC, under the plans, trading standards officers will be given new power to impose on-the-spot fines of 100 pounds (117 euros) on shops that sell tobacco or vapes to children, with all the money raised going towards further enforcement.
In addition, new restrictions on flavours, packaging and sales of vapes would be introduced to discourage young people and children from using them. Despite the fact that vaping is only legal in the UK from the age of 18, one in five children have tried it and the number of children using vapes has tripled in the last three years.
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