What we know about the smoking ban backed by MPs
MPs have backed a new which law, if passed, would mean anyone born after 1 January 2009 would be prevented from legally smoking.
Plans to introduce some of the world's strictest anti-smoking rules have been overwhelmingly backed by MPs.
On Tuesday, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons, with MPs voting 415 to 47 to approve it.
It gives the green light for the bill to progress to the next parliamentary stage. If it becomes law, it would mean anyone born after 1 January, 2009 will be prevented from legally smoking.
The legislation also includes a total ban on vape advertising and sponsorship, including displays seen by children and young people on places such as buses.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: “This Bill will come down on the vaping industry like a ton of bricks to prevent a new generation of children and young people from getting hooked on nicotine.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was among the MPs to vote against the Bill
Yahoo News UK examines the measures in the bill and what wasn't included.
What is the Tobacco and Vapes Bill?
The proposed legislation aims to create the “first smoke-free generation.” A similar bill was tabled by the previous government but shelved after the general election was called.
The bill prevents anyone born after 1 January 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.
It also includes powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape, and nicotine products in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Shopkeepers found selling to children underage face on-the-spot fines of £200.
The government announced on Tuesday that it will provide an additional £10m for Trading Standards to crack down on illicit trade and £70m for stop-smoking services.
How will the smoking ban work?
The bill makes it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009, which covers children who are currently 15 or younger.
Under the new law, the legal age for buying tobacco – currently 18 – would increase every year by one year so that people born in or after 2009 will never legally be able to buy cigarettes.
The legislation would not ban smoking outright as anyone who can legally buy tobacco now will be able to continue to do so if the bill becomes law.
What about vaping?
The bill restricts sweet vape flavours - such as bubble gum, gummy bear and cotton candy - and will review the packaging of e-cigarettes to reduce their appeal to children and young people.
The legislation includes a total ban on vape advertising and sponsorship, including displays seen by children and young people such as on buses, in cinemas and in shop windows, bringing them in line with current tobacco restrictions.
Disposable vapes will be banned from June 2025 under separate environmental legislation, while the sale of vapes in vending machines and their free distribution will be stopped.
Where will it be illegal to smoke?
The bill gives the government powers to extend the existing indoor smoking ban to some outdoor spaces.
Children's playgrounds and the areas outside schools and hospitals are being considered in England but would be subject to consultation.
Those places could also be made vape-free under the proposals.
It is already an offence to smoke on NHS hospital grounds in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Will you be able to smoke in pub gardens?
Yes. Reports in the summer had suggested that ministers were considering banning smoking in beer gardens and outside stadiums.
However, smoking outside pubs and restaurants will not be banned as part of the bill, the government confirmed at the beginning of November.
Streeting said the hospitality sector will be exempt from the new smoking ban in outside spaces.
Why is the bill being introduced?
The government is cracking down on smoking to protect people's health, save thousands of lives and ease the burden on the NHS.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the number of cancers caused by smoking has increased by 17% since 2003.
A study published in October by Cancer Research UK found that more than 127,000 young people start smoking tobacco regularly each year in the UK.
The charity's study found the equivalent of around 350 young adults aged 18 to 25 start smoking every day, with some 35,000 having taken up the habit since July.
Data published on Tuesday showed that more than one million illicit vapes were seized inland by Trading Standards in 2023/24, a 59% increase on the previous year. In addition, 19 million illicit cigarettes and 5.2 tonnes of illicit hand-rolled tobacco were seized.
Streeting said: "The number of children vaping is growing at an alarming rate and without urgent intervention, we’re going to have a generation of children with long-term addiction.
"It is unacceptable that these harmful products are being deliberately targeted at children with brightly coloured packaging and flavours like ‘gummy bear’ and ‘rainbow burst’."
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said: "If this major piece of legislation is passed, it will accelerate a smoke-free generation and lead to children never being trapped by addiction to cigarettes with lifelong harms to their health.
"The rising number of children vaping is a significant concern, and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help prevent marketing vapes to children, which is utterly unacceptable."
Read more
Ban to stop children from ever smoking a cigarette to be introduced in Parliament (The Independent)
Everything we know about the UK disposable vape ban (Yahoo News UK)
Major U-turn on new UK smoking ban rules (Manchester Evening News)
