The British government wants to make smoking a thing of the past in the UK, alongside lions (that once roamed the land) and its EU membership.
Driving the news: The UK is proposing a new law that would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. This would effectively raise the legal smoking age by one year every year until, eventually, nobody would be allowed to smoke.
- Besides making kids born December 31, 2008, absolute legends among their peers, the law is projected to entirely phase out smoking in young people as soon as 2040.
- The law is modelled on a plan that passed in New Zealand late last year, which also includes measures to drastically reduce the number of stores allowed to sell cigs.
Why it matters: Almost all smokers start smoking regularly by age 18. Under this plan, youths would have a lot fewer chances to pick up the habit. If it becomes law and is proven to be effective, more countries could follow suit and stamp out smoking for good.
- While global smoking has dropped off a cliff since the 1990s, it hasn’t gone away entirely. Over 1 billion people still regularly smoke tobacco products, resulting in over 7 million smoking-related deaths annually, including 48,000 mortalities in Canada.
Yes, but: Critics point out that the inability to legally buy cigarettes hasn’t stopped teens from getting them before, and this law would simply lead to a boom in the black market.
What’s next: While the opposition Labour Party has signalled it would vote yes to the law, the ruling Conservatives could face pushback from its own ranks, with the libertarian wing of the party (like former PM Liz Truss) set to vote against it.—QH