Overview
- Lawmakers approved the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on Tuesday, blocking tobacco sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, with royal assent still required.
- The measure lifts the legal sale age by one year every year so today’s teenagers never reach a legal age to buy cigarettes.
- The law lets ministers restrict e‑cigarette flavors and packaging and expands no‑vape zones to cars with children, areas near schools and hospitals, and playgrounds.
- Health groups welcomed the move as a public‑health milestone, while vape industry figures warned it could push ex‑smokers back to cigarettes and boost illegal supply.
- Officials cite heavy harm from smoking in England, including about 64,000 deaths and 400,000 hospital stays each year and NHS treatment costs near £3 billion.