UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering banning cigarettes for the next generation of young people and promises one million smokers free vape kits. .The law could incrementally increase the age in which people are allowed to buy cigarettes until people born after a certain year will be prevented from purchasing tobacco. .Sunak’s tough approach to anti-smoking may lead to the next generation not being able to buy cigarettes at all, as inspired by New Zealand, where as of December 2022, the rule is that tobacco will never be sold to people born in or after 2009. .“Smoking is a deadly habit,” a government spokesperson said when asked about the smoking ban based on New Zealand’s legislation. .“It kills tens of thousands of people each year and places a huge burden on the National Health Service and the economy. We want to encourage more people to quit and meet our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, which is why we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates.”.“This includes providing one million smokers in England with free vape kits via our world-first ‘swap to stop’ scheme, llaunching a voucher scheme to incentivize pregnant women to quit, and consulting on mandatory cigarette pack inserts.”.Former New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, cracked down on tobacco and nicotine in 2022, as she passed legislation to reduce nicotine levels in tobacco products and allowing tobacco to be sold only at specialty tobacco stores. .In January, shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, confirmed the Labour party was in talks to phase out smoking in a similar way as New Zealand — prohibiting it for the next generation. Streeting wanted to see if there was an “appetite for change” in the UK.
