Anyone in the UK currently 17 years old or younger will never be able to legally buy cigarettes under a sweeping new law that has cleared Parliament. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which now awaits royal assent, gradually raises the legal age for buying tobacco each year, with the aim of preventing today’s children from ever becoming smokers. Ministers will also gain wider authority over how tobacco, vapes, and other nicotine products are flavored, marketed, and packaged, reports the BBC.
The legislation tightens where people can vape, extending existing smoke-free rules to ban vaping in cars carrying children, as well as in playgrounds, outside schools, and at hospitals—though vaping will still be permitted just outside hospitals to support smokers trying to quit. Homes, pub gardens, beaches, and other large outdoor areas are not covered by the new restrictions. “It is a landmark bill, it will create a smoke-free generation,” said Health minister Baroness Merron. “It is, in fact, the biggest public health intervention in a generation and I can assure all noble Lords it will save lives.” Critics, including Conservative peer Lord Naseby, warned it would hit retailers, per the Express. “What we really need is a proper understanding of how we educate people not to take up smoking,” he said.