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UK’s proposed smoking ban faces opposition despite health benefits, savings for healthcare system

A landmark Bill in the United Kingdom is aimed at creating the world’s first “smoke-free generation” by banning cigarette sales to those born from 2009 onwards.

UK’s proposed smoking ban faces opposition despite health benefits, savings for healthcare system
A woman holds her cigarette as she smokes in Trafalgar Square in central London on Oct 15, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)
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LONDON: A landmark Bill aimed at creating the world’s first “smoke-free generation” in the United Kingdom is facing significant opposition, despite the health benefits and expected savings for the healthcare system.

Some members of parliament, even from within the ruling Conservative Party, have expressed concerns about giving different rights to those born a day apart, while others say it is a question of choice.

The Bill, which was passed in the House of Commons last month with 383 MPs in favour and 67 against, will be the world’s first such law. It is set to go through several more votes and can be subject to amendments.

If it is passed, the UK government aims to have the new system in force by 2027.

It will ban those born after Jan 1, 2009 – that is, anyone turning 15 or younger this year –  from buying cigarettes and other tobacco products. It does not outright ban smoking, as it will not affect those who are already allowed to buy tobacco.

The proposed legislation would gradually raise the age at which people can buy cigarettes. The legal age for cigarette sales is currently 18 in the UK.

The idea is based on a policy from New Zealand, which was repealed in February before it could be implemented when the country elected a new government.

15% OF ENGLAND POPULATION ARE SMOKERS

Experts said that the key to stubbing out smoking is making sure people do not start in the first place. More than 80 per cent of British smokers took up the habit before their 20th birthday.

“There is nothing else freely available to be sold on the market that kills two in three people if they use it as the manufacturer intends, and that addicts people, often in childhood, certainly when they are very young,” said Ms Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of independent health charity Action on Smoking and Health.

“What we know is that from the first cigarette, about half of people will go on to be long-term smokers. So really the only free choice that a consumer has is to have that first cigarette,” she added.

The UK government hopes that its policy will create a smoke-free generation by 2040.

While the prevalence of smoking is falling naturally in the UK, a study by University College London found the pace of that decline has almost ground to a halt. Smokers still account for about 15 per cent of the English population.

BAN COULD CREATE BLACK MARKET: MP

Smoking is estimated to cost the UK more than US$20 billion annually in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Phasing it out is expected to more than compensate for lost tax revenue from the tobacco industry, but some like Conservative MP Simon Clarke are opposed to the Bill.

He told parliament that the right to smoke in private is someone’s choice, not the state’s.

“I think that we risk creating a huge philosophical as well as practical problem, which will lead, undoubtedly, to further rights creep as the years go by,” he added.

“Because it is likely that the health lobby, the interventionist lobby, as the shadow secretary of state put it in his speech, will use this as a logic which will allow them to move into other fields.”

Sir Clarke also said a ban could help create a black market and “risks making smoking cooler”. He suggested using education and the tax system instead to deter people from taking up the habit.

While lobby groups similarly claim that the legislation will lead to an increase in illegal cigarette trade, proponents say there is no evidence to support this, unlike the data linked to an outright ban.

Dr Allen Gallagher, research fellow from the University of Bath, said it is about “having responsible policy”.

“When you ban a product outright, there is an increased risk then of unintended consequences, such as fuelling the illicit trade,” he noted.

“In terms of tobacco bans, we haven't seen a lot of outright bans. But an example we did see was in South Africa during the COVID crisis, and research has indicated there was an increase in illicit trade at that point.”

The Bill also aims to make vapes less appealing to children but restricting flavours, packaging and marketing.

It does not ban vaping as e-vaporisers do not contain tobacco, but public health officials are concerned about the growing popularity of vapes among the younger generation. Despite limited data on the health impacts of vaping, it is feared to stunt lung and brain development, and may act as a gateway to smoking.

Source: CNA/lt(ca)
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