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Children in the U.K. who are 17 or younger, and anyone born in the future, will never be able to legally buy cigarettes after British lawmakers on Tuesday approved new stricter restrictions on smoking.
Those born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be banned from ever buying cigarettes under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
The law, which is due to receive royal assent next week, also tightens controls on vaping, including banning sales of vaping and nicotine products to under-18s and restricting advertising, displays, free distribution and discounting.
“The end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain — it’s inevitable,” Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of public health charity Action on Smoking and Health, said after a decades-long campaign in favour of the legislation.
It is currently illegal in the U.K. to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or vapes to people under 18. But most youths today will continue to face a ban their entire life as the minimum age to buy cigarettes rises each year.
A new law in the United Kingdom will ban purchasing tobacco smoking and vaping products to everyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, meaning affected age groups face a lifetime ban. The law is due to receive royal assent next week.
The U.K. government says the measures will help reduce smoking and prevent young people from becoming addicted to nicotine, easing long-term pressure on the National Health Service (NHS).
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the approval of the bill was a historic moment for the country’s health.
“Children in the U.K. will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” he said. “Prevention is better than cure — this reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS and build a healthier Britain.”
The passage gives the U.K. one of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world. The law is similar to one New Zealand lawmakers passed in 2022, which was then repealed by a subsequent government.
The number of people who smoke in Britain has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people — or about 13 per cent of the population — still smoke, according to official figures.
Authorities say smoking causes some 80,000 deaths a year in the U.K., and remains the number one preventable cause of death, disability and poor health.
Tighter rules on vaping
Vaping has also become a focus for British policymakers, especially over concerns about youth uptake and nicotine addiction. The government banned the sale of single-use or disposable vapes last year over concerns about youth use and environmental damage.
The new legislation will tighten those rules, with ministers gaining powers to regulate the flavours and packaging of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products through secondary legislation.
Around 10 per cent of adults in Great Britain — an estimated 5.5 million people — use vapes, according to health charity Action on Smoking and Health, with levels broadly unchanged since 2024, suggesting growth has begun to plateau.
About half of people who vape are former smokers, while around 40 per cent continue to smoke alongside vaping, the charity said.
