The Smokefree Generation: Everything You Need to Know

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been agreed by the UK Government. The central part of the Bill is the smokefree generation policy. Here’s everything you need to know about who it will affect and how it will work.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a new law designed to create a smokefree generation and reduce youth vaping. It makes it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, so that as this group gets older they can never legally be sold tobacco. The Bill also gives government stronger powers to regulate vapes and other nicotine products, especially where products are designed or marketed in ways that appeal to children. 

The generational ban covers the sale of all tobacco products. It also covers other smoking products linked to tobacco law, including herbal smoking products and cigarette papers.

The Bill will not create a ban on all nicotine products. The smokefree generation measure is aimed at tobacco, not every nicotine-containing product. Vapes are treated differently because, while not risk-free, they are considered less harmful than smoking and can help adult smokers quit. Instead of banning all nicotine products, the Bill focuses on making vapes less appealing and less accessible to children. 

The law does not make smoking itself illegal nor the purchase of tobacco. It is a law about the sale of tobacco by retailers. People who can already legally buy tobacco would still be able to do so.

In addition to the generation ban the new Bill has other wide-ranging powers including to:

• Regulate the branding, promotion, sponsorship, packaging, point of sale, contents and device design of all tobacco and nicotine products
• Create an age of sale for all nicotine products (currently only have one in place for vapes and tobacco)
• Close loopholes on free distribution and advertising for nicotine products
• Extend smokefree powers to some outdoor settings and introduce heated tobacco and vape-free spaces powers
• Create a retail licencing scheme in England and Wales for all tobacco and nicotine products (Scotland and NI have a retail register scheme)
• Create a new registration scheme for all tobacco and nicotine products (with pre and post market powers)
• Strengthen enforcement powers and capabilities 
• Provide government with powers to regulate and/or ban cigarette filters

• Government modelling estimates that raising the age of sale each year will prevent up to 473,000 cases of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases, leading to 155,000 fewer deaths by 2100. This will save the health and care system billions of pounds.
• In England, raising age of sale from 16 to 18 in 2007 reduced smoking rates among 16-17-year-olds by 30%. In the US, when the age of sale was increased from 18 to 21, the chance of a person in that age group smoking fell by 39%.

• Yes, it is supported by 68% of people in England, with just 13% opposed. The policy has broad cross-party support with 75% of Labour voters, 70% of Conservative voters, 78% of Liberal Democrat voters, and 50% of Reform voters. 
• A majority (52%) of smokers also support raising the age of sale, more than double the proportion (24%) opposed.

• In England, the legal obligation on retailers is not to sell tobacco to those who are underage. It is also an offence to buy tobacco on behalf of someone underage, also known as ‘proxy purchase’. 
• Unlike with alcohol, there is no offence for those who try to purchase tobacco underage. As is the case now, the new law will not criminalise underage purchase, possession or use of tobacco.

• The generational smoking ban is part of a vision to end the harms from smoking in this country for good.
• Adults impacted by this measure will never have been able to purchase tobacco legally and as a result, will be much less likely to be long-term smokers. Government modelling shows that raising the age of sale could virtually eliminate smoking in under 30s by 2050. This means that there will be very few people impacted by this measure who are still smoking in their 30s and 40s. 
• For those who are, retailers can simply ask for ID to verify a purchase. 

• Trading Standards have powers to issue fixed-penalty notices to retailers who fail to verify the age of those they are selling tobacco products to. 
• However, with an effective communications campaign tobacco control measures often have high levels of compliance, meaning they are largely self-enforcing. In 2007 before the indoor smoking ban in public places came in it was criticised for being unenforceable. However, compliance was 98% from day one. 

• The generational smoking ban will not prevent current adult smokers from purchasing tobacco and will have a gradual impact over time, so is unlikely to significantly impact the black market. 
• When the tobacco age of sale increased from 16 to 18 in 2007 it had no impact on black market sales – the number of illicit cigarettes consumed actually declined by 25% following the age of sale rise.
• The UK has a strong enforcement plan for addressing the black market which has seen the number of illegal cigarettes sold in the UK fall by 90%. 
• The most effective way to reduce demand for illicit tobacco is to support more people to quit smoking.

• Tobacco companies have attempted to discredit the generational smoking ban by comparing it to the ban on tobacco sales introduced by the South African government during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these are completely different policies being implemented in very different contexts.
• A ban impacting current smokers is not being implemented in the UK. The generational smoking ban will only apply to future generations and will not prevent existing adult smokers from purchasing tobacco. 
• The regulatory context in the UK is also completely different to South Africa. In the UK, smoking rates are much lower and continue to decline; tobacco is tightly regulated; the illicit market is much smaller and is subject to strict controls; stop smoking support is widely available and smokers can access a range of stop smoking aids and alternatives, including vapes.

• The generational smoking ban is completely different to the prohibition of illicit drugs, both in terms of how it will be enforced, who the law applies to and the penalties for breaking the law. The use or possession of tobacco by those underage will not be criminalised and stop smoking services will continue to support those underage to quit. 
• Penalties for retailers breaking the law will be fines in most cases, with custodial sentences only for the most extreme breaches.

• Reducing smoking will have a positive impact on public finances. The impact assessment for the Bill estimated that, by 2100, there will be over £57 billion in benefits to the UK.  

• Research commissioned by ASH found that 51% of small tobacco retailers in England supported the government’s age of sale proposal, nearly double those opposed (26%). The impact of the Act will be gradual, giving retailers time to adjust to the rising age of sale and upcoming regulation of nicotine products. 
• Selling tobacco is highly profitable for manufacturers, but not for retailers. Retailers make lower profit margins on tobacco than for selling other products (8.5% for tobacco compared to 21% for other products) while tobacco manufacturers make on average 50%.

• Since the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was announced, concerns have been raised in the media over whether the legislation would breach the Windsor Framework. These concerns stem from a legal opinion commissioned by the Tobacco Manufacturers Association that was shared with the Daily Mail.  
• Following these claims ASH commissioned legal experts at the University of Liverpool to provide an opinion which found that, while the ‘smokefree generation policy’ is untested in the courts, there are good reasons to think that it is compatible with all EU regulations. 
• The Government is confident that the Bill will apply in Northern Ireland.
• Tobacco companies have a long history of using legal challenges to delay and block tobacco control policies – it is not surprising that they are questioning the legal compatibility of the Bill. For more information see this blog.

• New Zealand was the first country to commit to introducing a generational smoking ban. However, following a general election in 2023 this commitment was abandoned by the incoming Government under pressure from their coalition partners – the libertarian ACT party and New Zealand First. This was despite overwhelming support from the public and all the main political parties.