Therefore, they will never be able to buy it, not even when they become adults: however, the bill must first pass through Parliament
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that his government is working on one of the toughest anti-cigarette laws in the world. Under the bill, which is based largely on a similar decision made in New Zealand last December, people born after January 1, 2009 would never be able to buy cigarettes or other tobacco products. The ban will be in place forever, even once you reach the age of majority: for example, this practically means that in 2050 a forty-year-old will no longer be able to legally buy a pack of cigarettes. However, people born before 2009 will be able to continue to do so.
In order for the law to enter into force, it must first be approved by the British Parliament, where Sunak’s Conservative Party has a majority. However, the Prime Minister said he would leave his party’s parliamentarians free to choose, but asked them to make the decision “as a matter of conscience.”
Sunak introduced the project to great fanfare. in communication The government said on its website that it aims to “create a “smoking-free generation.” According to British government calculations, smoking is the cause of death of 64,000 people annually in England alone. Sunak explicitly said the decision was also made on the idea that reducing smoking would not only reduce deaths but would also reduce costs to the NHS in treating people who develop smoking-related physical problems, such as strokes, heart and lung problems. Diseases. According to Sunak, the consequences of smoking cost the British healthcare system 17 billion pounds annually (about 20 billion euros).
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However, under the law, smoking would not be criminalized: only selling cigarettes and other products containing tobacco to anyone born in 2009 or later would be illegal. The government said people who can legally buy cigarettes today will not be banned in the future. The government is also working on a series of new measures to make e-cigarettes and other types of vaporizers less attractive to young people, limiting the number of possible flavors and imposing new rules on the packaging in which they are sold.
The fact that Sunak’s proposal is so recent has not yet allowed the debate on this issue to develop in the UK. But in New Zealand, where a similar law already exists, some doubts have also been expressed about the measure: one opposition party pointed out that a blanket ban would have encouraged a black market in tobacco products over the years and would cause major problems for shops. They sell it today. However, assessing the long-term consequences of such a procedure is currently extremely difficult: the New Zealand and UK trials are among the first in the world.
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