- Technically, the new law will raise the legal age requirement in the UK for buying cigarettes, cigars or tobacco, which is currently 18, by one year in every subsequent year, starting on January 1, 2027
- This will effectively mean that people born on or after January 1, 2009 will never be eligible to buy them
- Retailers will face financial penalties for selling the products to those not entitled to them
- The government will also be empowered to impose a new registration system for smoking and vaping products entering the country, seeking to improve oversight
- The bill will expand the UK’s indoor smoking ban to a series of outdoor public spaces, for instance in children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals
- Most indoor spaces that are designated smoke-free will become vape-free as well
- Smoking in designated areas outside pubs and bars and other hospitality settings will remain permissible
- Smoking and vaping will remain legal in people’s homes
- Vaping will become illegal in cars if someone under the age of 18 is inside, to match existing rules on smoking
- Advertising for smoking and vaping products will be banned
- People aged 18 or older will remain eligible to purchase vaping products, but some items targeted at younger consumers like disposable vapes have already been outlawed as part of the program
Honest ignorant question: What would happen if you ban the products and not the act?
You never get charged for smoking, but you can have the cigarettes seized. No imports and no factories.
Why do you people CARE so much what other people do?!
Do you drive the speed limit? It protects others and future generations. Life would have been a lot healthier if someone hadn’t introduced that first cigarette to you 20yrs ago, and you would never have felt the loss.
We care about people, even if they hurt themselves (and tax dollars in future healthcare). Most people are better off never starting. It’s like trying to stop someone from hang gliding into a volcano. Sure it’s fun… but most people shouldn’t do it.
I would rest easier knowing there is less of it around for kids to get peer pressured into locking themselves to it.
That’s called a ban on smoking for people under 18. You already do that.
We used to drink beer for breakfast in this country and now you’re asking to give the officers reason to stop and search you to check if you’ve bought the cigarettes from a legitimate place?
I have no idea how that would change thing. I just base myself on previous (and current) attempts at banning things. It never goes well.