Tthe House of Commons of the United Kingdom will vote Tuesday about the “Tobacco and Vapes Law” that make it illegal for anyone born in 2009 or later to purchase tobacco and add restrictions on vaping. Its approval would be equivalent to an effective, lifelong smoking ban for children under 15 years of age.
The bill was supported by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who referred to tobacco as “the biggest completely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death”.
Although the bill has the support of lawmakers from the opposition Labor Party and the ruling Conservative Party, some Conservatives have broken with Sunak. Former Prime Ministers Liz Truss and Boris Johnson have both opposed the billwith Johnson describing him as “crazy” and Truss calling him “deeply anti-Conservative”.
“I think this really runs the risk of making smoking more legal. It certainly risks creating a black market and also creating an unmanageable challenge for the authorities,” Conservative lawmaker Simon Clarke told BBC radio.
Conservative members of Parliament will be able to vote freely on the bill, but it is expected to pass as it has the support of the Labor Party.
Health authorities say that because of the addictive nature of tobacco, preventing young people from taking up the habit could save millions of lives. “Smoking kills and causes harm at every stage of life, from stillbirths, asthma in children, stroke, cancer, heart attacks and dementia,” said Public Health Minister Andrea Leadsom. said in a statement. “This bill, if passed, will have a substantial impact – preventing illness, disability and premature death in the future.”
Tobacco causes approximately 75,000 preventable deaths per year in the UK and more than 500,000 hospital admissions.
Victoria Atkins, the UK’s secretary of state for health and social care, told the House of Commons that the bill was intended to stop people becoming addicted to tobacco products in the first place. “The premise behind this is to disrupt the start,” Atkins said Tuesday. “It is the only product that, if consumed as the manufacturer intends, will kill two-thirds of its users in the long term.”
She also emphasized that the bill is not intended to demonize people who smoke and will not prevent people who already smoke from purchasing tobacco products. “This will in no way affect the rights or entitlements of current smokers,” she said.
However, some members of parliament were concerned about the practical implications of such a ban. “When I look at this ban, I question whether it will work,” said Conservative MP Jake Berry. Berry cited data showing that more young people in the UK have tried marijuana than tobacco, despite only marijuana being prohibited. “If prohibitions worked, no child would have tried cannabis,” he said.
Under the legislation, officers would be given new powers to impose fines on stores that sell tobacco or vapes to children. The legislation also involves new restrictions on the sale of vapes to make them less attractive to children. One in five children in the UK have tried vaping, despite it being illegal for under-18s, according to UK government data.
See more information: How Juul Hooked Kids and Triggered a Public Health Crisis
If the bill passes, the UK will have the only generational smoking ban in the world and one of the strictest anti-smoking laws. The legislation was inspired by a similar law in New Zealand, passed in December 2022, but was repealed in February this year after a new government led by conservative Prime Minister Christopher Luxon took office.
At the time, New Zealand’s legislation was the first generational smoking ban in the world.
Smoking in the UK costs its government approximately £14.7 billion ($18.3 billion) between the costs of healthcare and other social services, compared to the £10 billion ($12.5 billion) it raises in tobacco-specific taxes, according to the Office of Budgetary Responsibility.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
