Action On Tobacco And Vaping - New Measures To Protect Children And Young People And Reduce Preventable Deaths
20th March 2024
Smoking Kills and it is well proven for tobacco but do vapers need to await statistics to prove what we all know - putting chemicals in your body probably leads to serious health problems.
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto has welcomed the introduction of proposed legislation to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 and allow tougher measures on vaping.
All governments in the UK agreed to bring forward a UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill as part of their response to the 4 Nations Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping consultation.
The UK-wide legislation, introduced in Parliament today (Wednesday 20 March 2024) will gradually increase the age of sale, making it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. This means that children born on or after this date - those turning 15 this year and younger - will never be able to buy cigarettes.
The Bill also includes new powers to regulate displays, contents, flavours and retail packaging of vapes and nicotine products, allowing restrictions to target flavours marketed at children and to move vapes out of sight of children and away from products like sweets.
It will also remove existing Scottish provisions which make it an offence for a person under 18 to purchase tobacco products.
The Scottish Government has already published proposals to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland using existing environmental powers. If agreed by the Scottish Parliament, this would come into effect on 1 April 2025.
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said, ""Scotland has been a world-leader on a range of tobacco control measures, and while there has been a steady reduction in the proportion of people smoking we know it still damages lives and kills more than 8,000 people a year in Scotland. Smoking is a huge burden on our NHS and social care services and contributes significantly to health inequalities, which is why our goal is for a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034.
"Research suggests that almost one in five young people have tried vaping and we're particularly concerned about how flavours are used as an enticement to children and young people.
"We will now consider how to use these powers, if passed by Westminster, with the consent of the Scottish Parliament, to benefit public health. We will continue our four-nations approach to avoid any unnecessary regulatory divergence and to offer more certainty and for business and consistency for consumers. Powers on vapes will be taken forward following further consultation and engagement.
"In addition, we were the first government to commit to taking action on single-use vapes and have now fulfilled our 2023 Programme for Government commitment to consult on measures to tackle the environmental impact of single-use vapes."
In accordance with the Sewel Convention, the Bill will require the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament.
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of health inequalities and costs the economy millions each year in lost productivity.
The Scottish Government has been clear that vapes should never be used by children or adult non-smokers, but they are one of a range of tools for adult smokers to quit smoking. We therefore intend that refillable, reusable vapes will remain available, alongside other tools for smoking cessation, including nicotine patches and medication.
Tobacco and Vaping Framework: Roadmap to 2034
In Scotland, there are existing Fixed Penalty Notice regimes for the age of sale and proxy purchasing offences relating to the sale of tobacco products, cigarette papers and vapes. Trading Standards already have the ability to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £200 to retailers who breach age of sale restrictions. FPNs are regularly utilised to enforce age of sale legislation. In Scotland, over 500 FPNs for underage tobacco sales were issued from 2015/16 to 2022/23, and nearly 200 FPNs for underage vape sales were issued from 2017/18 to 2022/23.
UK Parliament
Smokefree generation one step closer as Bill introduced
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will deliver on the Prime Minister's commitment to create a smokefree generation, saving thousands of lives and billions for the NHS.
Bill will deliver on Prime Minister's commitment to create a smokefree generation, saving thousands of lives and billions of pounds for the NHS.
New powers to restrict vape flavours, packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops to protect children.
‘On the spot’ fines to be introduced to clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vaping products
A new Bill to protect future generations across the UK from the harmful impacts of smoking and build a better future for our children will be introduced to Parliament today (Wednesday 20 March).
Smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer and costs the NHS and the economy an estimated £17 billion a year. It is highly addictive, with 4 in 5 smokers starting before the age of 20 and remaining addicted for the rest of their lives. This puts huge pressure on the NHS, with someone admitted to hospital with a smoking relating condition almost every minute in England.
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill introduced today, children turning 15 this year or younger will never legally be able to be sold tobacco. This will ensure that future generations are protected from the harmful impacts of smoking and save thousands of lives as well as billions of pounds for the NHS.
Importantly, creating a smokefree generation will help level-up the UK because smoking is one of the most significant and preventable drivers of disparities in health outcomes.
Smoking itself will not be criminalised, and our phased approach means anyone who can legally buy tobacco now will not be prevented from doing so in future.
In response to a huge rise in the number of children using vapes, the Bill will also introduce new powers restrict vape flavours and packaging that is intentionally marketed at children. The powers will also allow government to change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them, like sweets.
The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive, with withdrawal sometimes causing anxiety, trouble concentrating and headaches. While vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, children should never vape.
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
If we want to build a better future for our children we need to tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death: smoking.
That is why, alongside new measures to curb the alarming rise in youth vaping, we are delivering on our commitment to create a smokefree generation and stop our kids from getting hooked on harmful cigarettes and other nicotine products.
This important change will save thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS, freeing up new resource than can be spent to improve outcomes for patients right across the UK.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said:
Smoking kills. It takes around 80,000 lives in the UK every year and causes one in four cancer-related deaths. It’s therefore only right we take robust action to protect future generations from these harmful products.
Today is a significant milestone, representing the single biggest preventable health policy in a generation with a first-of-its-kind Bill aimed at preventing our children and young people from falling prey to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
This landmark legislation will ensure generations to come will have healthier lives, while freeing up NHS capacity by removing the huge pressure caused by smoking-related illness.
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England said:
Smoking causes harm across the life course. This includes stillbirth, asthma, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 15 different types of cancer, stroke and dementia.
If passed this will be a major public health measure which reduce illness, disability, and premature deaths for children today and future generations.
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said,
The groundbreaking legislation put before parliament today sets a course to the extinction of smoking in the UK. Every day 350 young adults aged between 18 and 25 start smoking regularly, risking a lifetime of addiction, disease, disability and premature death. Smoking is the silent killer that hides in plain sight, killing more people than COVID at the height of the pandemic. Ending this scourge on society cannot come soon enough.
Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s Executive Director of Policy, said:
This legislation positions the UK as a world leader in tackling smoking. Raising the age of sale of tobacco products has strong public backing and is the boldest prevention measure in years.
Nothing would have a bigger impact on reducing the number of preventable deaths in the UK than ending smoking. We urge all MPs to vote in favour of this bill, and for it to be passed as quickly as possible.
Dr Camilla Kingdon, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said:
The introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a significant day for children’s health. As paediatricians, reducing harm to children and young people lies at the core of our work. Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and disease in the UK.
Stopping children and young people from starting to smoke will decrease their chance of developing preventable disease later in life and reducing the impact of passive smoking on pregnant women and children will be a key outcome too. I strongly urge MPs to use the important responsibility they have and support this Bill to protect children’s and our nation’s health.
Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said:
We look forward to supporting retailers in implementing the new age of sale legislation on smoking and future regulations around vapes. It is important that the legislation operates in the same way across the UK as this will help ensure clarity and consistency for customers. Retailers will look to ensure they comply with the new regulations in a timely manner.
Under the Bill, enforcement officers’ powers will also be strengthened with ‘on the spot fines’ of £100 to uphold the new laws and clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. This builds on a maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can already impose. It will also no longer be legal to give free samples of vapes to under 18s.
Additionally, the government has committed to ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes from April 2025 under separate environmental legislation. Disposable vapes have been a key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping, with the proportion of 11 to 17 year old vapers using disposables increasing almost ninefold in the last 2 years.
The government has already announced funding to support smokers to quit with £70 million for local ‘stop smoking’ services. The ‘swap to stop’ scheme, for example, provides free access to a vape kits alongside behavioural support to help adult smokers quit the habit and improve health outcomes.
