Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, will not be able to legally buy cigarettes in the UK after lawmakers approved new legislation on smoking.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is set to get royal assent from King Charles III, will raise the legal age for buying tobacco by one year every 12 months, starting in 2027.
It means that people born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, face a lifetime ban.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting called it a historic moment.
“Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” Streeting said.
The legislation will also tighten controls on vaping, including banning the sale of vaping and nicotine products to those younger than 18. Lawmakers also restricting advertising, displays, free distribution, and discounting of vaping products.
The proposal to forbid the purchase of tobacco to those born after a certain date was first suggested by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in fall 2023.
Sunak unveiled the proposal at the Conservative Party conference in October 2023, but it was met with hostility by his predecessor, Liz Truss, who described it as a “virtue-signalling piece of legislation.”
Attempt to ‘Limit People’s Freedom’
Truss told Parliament in January 2024 that the legislation was an attempt by a “technocratic establishment” to “limit people’s freedom.”
The Conservatives lost the general election in July 2024—and Truss lost her seat—but the incoming Labour government pushed on with the legislation, which they say will also ease long-term pressures on the National Health Service (NHS).
In December 2022, similar legislation was passed in New Zealand, but it was later repealed after Labour lost an election in November 2023 to the conservative National Party.
The UK government estimates that smoking causes about 64,000 deaths in England alone, and in 2022–2023, there were 408,700 hospital admissions per year in England attributed to smoking.
Research published in 2017 suggested that smoking-related illnesses cost the NHS 2.6 billion pounds (about $3.5 billion) annually, with wider economic costs in excess of 21 billion pounds.
“Prevention is better than cure,” Streeting said. “This reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain.”
Under the legislation, ministers will also get powers to regulate the flavors and packaging of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products through secondary legislation.
Some academic studies have suggested that fruit, mint, candy, and dessert flavors ignite a desire to vape.
In February 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricted the sale of all vape flavors other than tobacco and menthol.
The legislation is the latest move against smoking and vaping in the UK.
Single-Use Vapes Banned
As of June 1, 2025, it became illegal to sell single-use or disposable vapes amid concerns about their uptake by young people, as well as littering.
In August 2024, a report published by the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health suggested that about 5.6 million people in the UK were vaping.
The analysis, based on data collected by YouGov, estimated that 11 percent of the adult population in the UK vaped regularly.
The report found that 53 percent of vapers had quit smoking cigarettes, 39 percent did it alongside smoking, and 8 percent had never smoked.
King Charles, as head of state, is set to give his assent to the bill before he visits the United States next week. He is expected to address a joint session of Congress on April 28.
The World Health Organization said in a statement on Feb. 26 that there were “worrying trends” among young people and women in Europe.
“We have a responsibility to change course now: to shield young people from nicotine addiction, prevent industry interference in health policy, and enforce the regulations that will prevent a lifetime of avoidable harm,” said Hans Henri P. Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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