UK lawmakers to vote on bill to gradually phase out smoking

By Sylvia Hui | Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British government’s plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking was expected to clear its first hurdle Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.

The bill, a key policy announced by Sunak last year, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009. It has the support of the opposition Labour Party and was expected to pass. But Sunak faced rebellion from more libertarian-minded members of his party, who criticized the proposals as “unconservative.”

If passed, the bill will give Britain some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world. Authorities say it will create modern Britain’s “first smoke-free generation.”

Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, children turning 15 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco. The legal age of sale that people in England can buy cigarettes will be raised by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population.

The bill also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as banning the sale of cheap disposable vapes and restricting their flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.
It is currently illegal for anyone to sell cigarettes or tobacco products and vapes to people under 18 years old throughout the U.K.

Opponents, such as the smokers’ rights lobbying group FOREST, said the move risks creating a black market and will “treat future generations of adults like kids.” Prominent voices within the Conservative Party, including two of Sunak’s predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, said the plans went against conservative values by limiting people’s personal freedoms.

The bill was a “virtue-signalling piece of legislation about protecting adults from themselves in the future,” Truss told Parliament during Tuesday’s debate.

Despite the opposition, the bill was expected to comfortably clear its first hurdle during a vote Tuesday of lawmakers in the House of Commons.

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