UK set for first smoke-free generation with landmark Bill a step closer to becoming law

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By Daniel Pye

Plans to establish the first completely smoke-free generation have received support from both Houses of Parliament.

On Monday, the House of Lords approved the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at third reading which will prohibit anyone currently aged 17 or under from purchasing cigarettes in the future.

As part of the proposed new law, shopkeepers will not be allowed to sell tobacco or herbal smoking products, or cigarette papers, to people born on or after January 1 2009.

Before it becomes law, the landmark Bill must undergo a tidying up process and both the Commons and Lords must agree on the final wording and then it will receive Royal Assent.

Businesses that break the rules will face a fine of up to £2,500.

The bill will also give the government the power to prohibit smoking and vaping in more public spaces.

According to government plans all existing indoor places where smoking is already banned will become heated tobacco-free and vape-free, including workplaces, public transport and private vehicles carrying under-18s.

Labour’s Baroness Gillian Merron, the sponsor of the bill in the House of Lords, said it had been “a privilege”, thanking supporters from both sides of the house and the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish governments in making it a “four nations bill”.

Baroness Merron paid tribute to the former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who originally announced the bill and his ambition to create a “smoke free generation”.

She thanked Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, for his expertise.

Sir Whitty told Doctors.net.uk: “In the long run this bill will lead to smoking being eliminated to a large degree in this country.”

There will be fewer children with asthma, and a reduction of smoking in pregnancy as time goes on, he said.

“Because we’re now talking about smoking a lot in the news outlets makes it much easier for us to open our conversation with people and say look this is a great moment for you to quit,” he added.

More than 1,000 experts across the health sector including medical royal colleges called for the bill to be passed as quickly as possible when it was first announced in 2024.

In a letter written to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and health secretary Wes Streeting, they said: “Labour cannot achieve its manifesto commitment to halve differences in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions unless it prioritises ending smoking.”

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