UK lawmakers will vote on a landmark bill aiming to create the country's first smoke
LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers will on Tuesday debate and vote on the government’s plans to introduce a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking.
The bill, a key policy announced by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year, will make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009. It has the support of the opposition Labour Party and is expected to pass. But Sunak faces rebellion from more libertarian-minded members of his party, who criticized the proposals as “unconservative.”
Authorities say that if passed, the bill will create Britain’s “first smoke-free generation.”
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, children turning 15 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco. The legal age of sale that people in England can buy cigarettes will be raised by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population.