- 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
If people over 18 can buy it then that’s fine. I do think under 18 is too young for cigs. Way to ruin your lungs. Though I am wary of how totalitarian the UK is becoming especially for young people - no phones, no social media. Prohibition and banning people turns us into North Korea, China, and Russia. It’s a fine line to cross. However, we definitely do need tighter regulations for certain things. But I think the gov is diving in head first instead of finding a more nuanced approach with things. This feels more like it’s about control and policing society rather than making a healthy and happier society.