Plans to create an entirely smoke-free generation have received backing from both Houses of Parliament.
Peers on Monday approved the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at its third reading, aiming to prevent anyone currently aged 17 or younger from ever buying cigarettes.
Under the proposed law, shopkeepers will be prohibited from selling tobacco, herbal smoking products, or cigarette papers to individuals born on or after 1 January 2009. Adults attempting to purchase vaping or nicotine products for children will also face fines.
Ministers are set to gain new powers to control the flavours and substances in smoking products, including vapes, alongside regulating their packaging’s appearance, size, texture, and shape.
The Bill requires further parliamentary agreement before it can become law.
“Smoking’s the number-one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health, and tobacco claims around 80,000 lives every year,” health minister Baroness Merron told the Lords.
She said: “And whilst tobacco remains the greatest threat, this legislation is about protecting future generations not only from the harms of tobacco but from nicotine addiction.”
Conservative shadow health minister Lord Kamall warned that ministers were set to gain “a considerable degree of delegated power” to decide rules governing flavouring, advertising restrictions and the creation of vape-free places.
“We want regulations to be grounded in evidence,” he said.
“Regulations must not impose unnecessary burdens on retailers, especially corner shops and other small retailers, and does not impose burdens on the hospitality sector.
“And regulations must recognise concerns of former smokers who rely on particular vape products and descriptors as part of their pathway from smoking and not ban products that might make smoking cessation more difficult.
“We particularly welcome the commitment to a review of this act after a reasonable period of years – that review will matter.”
Lord Kamall said “a permanent and ever-widened prohibition on tobacco sales to an increasing share of the adult population may drive some” to buy from the black market.
Jamie Strachan, operations director at VPZ, a vaping retailer with more than 190 shops throughout the country, said: “Passage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill marks an important moment for public health policy in the UK.
“Responsible regulation is essential to protect young people and we have long supported measures that maintain high retail standards while ensuring adult smokers can still access safer alternatives to combustible tobacco, however, the continued presence of high-capacity disposable devices designed to circumvent existing limits risks undermining both consumer protections and responsible retailers.
“As the Government now develops the detailed regulations that will implement the legislation, strong enforcement and clear product standards will be critical.
“The success of the new framework will depend on strong enforcement against non-compliant products and clear regulatory standards that support responsible retailers.”
