London — In a resounding vote, U.K. legislators have approved a bill with the goal of eventually prohibiting smoking in Britain. The contentious Tobacco and Vapes Bill has taken a significant step towards becoming law after successfully passing its initial parliamentary hurdle.
This legislation would criminalize the sale of tobacco to individuals born after January 1, 2009, with the minimum age for tobacco purchases rising by one year annually until it encompasses the entire population.
Advocates of the bill, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has prioritized it as a key government initiative, are striving to establish the U.K.'s "first smoke-free generation."
If implemented, this would rank among the most stringent national anti-smoking measures globally.
While current regulations prohibit individuals under 18 from purchasing tobacco in the U.K., the Tobacco and Vapes Bill would ensure that individuals who are turning 15 this year or younger would never be legally permitted to purchase tobacco products in Britain.
The proposed legislation would not criminalize smoking, but rather the sale of tobacco depending on a customer's age, and it would ensure that anyone who's currently allowed to buy tobacco products will never be prevented from doing so.
But despite praise from some health experts and the broad backing of parliament, the bill has generated controversy — even sparked rebellion — within Sunak's own Conservative Party.
The legislation was debated Tuesday in the House of Commons, where some more libertarian-minded Members of Parliament argued that it would limit personal freedoms and branded it "unconservative."
Liz Truss, who served very briefly as U.K. prime minister in 2022, called the proposal a "virtue-signaling piece of legislation about protecting adults from themselves in the future."
Another former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said it was "mad" that the party of Winston Churchill, Britain's famously cigar-loving World War II leader, was considering "banning cigars."
Conservative Member of Parliament Simon Clarke told CBS News partner network BBC News that the ban would be counterproductive.
"I think it actually risks making smoking cooler," he said. "It certainly risks creating a black market, and it also risks creating an unmanageable challenge for the authorities."
While the number of people who smoke in Britain has been falling for years, the Action on Smoking and Health campaign group says it remains the primary cause of preventable illness and premature death in England, accounting for approximately 74,600 deaths every year.
The proposed measure aims to decrease the prevalence of young individuals engaging in vaping. It seeks to prohibit the sale of low-cost, disposable vape products commonly used by minors and limit the range of available vape flavors in an effort to deter children from starting this habit.
New Zealand's ex-Prime Minister Jacinda Arden had put forward a similar ban on smoking, but this initiative was abandoned earlier this year by the new coalition government.
