2023-10-04 14:58:50
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 52 minutes ago, Updated now
“We must try to stop teenagers from starting to smoke,” said Rishi Sunak. TOBY MELVILLE / REUTERS
“I propose that in future we raise the (legal) smoking age by one year each year,” the British prime minister said during a speech at his party conference in Manchester.
Will the UK soon be tobacco-free? British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday his intention to extend the ban on the sale of cigarettes so that the kingdom gradually becomes a tobacco-free country. “I propose that in the future we increase the (legal) smoking age by one year each year», Declared the head of the Conservative government during a speech at his party congress in Manchester (northern England). “This means that a 14 year old today will never be legally sold a cigarette“, he clarified, speaking of “tobacco-free generation».
Currently, the legal age to buy cigarettes in the UK is 18. But “four out of five smokers started before turning 20», said Rishi Sunak. ,We must try to stop teenagers from starting to smoke». «This could almost completely eliminate smoking among young people by 2040», According to a press release from Downing Street
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United Kingdom, the statement said. It causes approximately one in four cancer deaths. The costs generated, particularly for the health system, “amount to £17 billion every year», or almost 20 billion euros. “Smoking will not be criminalized and our progressive approach means that anyone who can legally buy cigarettes today will not be prevented from doing so in the future», Specifies Downing Street.
If these measures are adopted, the UK will follow the example of New Zealand, which is gradually implementing a near-total tobacco ban by preventing anyone born after 2008 from buying cigarettes indefinitely, as well as ‘by reducing the amount of nicotine in products available for sale. The British government also announced on Wednesday a consultation on vaping, in order to limit its appeal and access for young people. “Youth vaping has tripled in the past three years», Indicates Downing Street. “We must act before the phenomenon becomes endemic».
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