Before 2007, people in the UK were required to smoke second-hand smoke when going out on the town, on trains, restaurants, clubs and pubs. Even if you're a non-smoker, the smell of cigarettes can linger after a night out. The situation changed almost overnight with the ban on indoor smoking in public places.
At a time when smoking rates among the population are plummeting, the government intends to go one step further and ban the sale of cigarettes to people born before 2009. The sale of cigarettes to people over that age group will be prohibited.
as ben quinnpolitical correspondent for The Guardian; To tell Helen Pitt, a policy that has never been tried anywhere else in the world. New Zealand came close, but ultimately did not enact a similar ban. Critics are lining up to denounce this as unworkable and illiberal.
The government admits that this could lead to the seemingly absurd situation in the future where a 40-year-old would be banned from buying cigarettes, but his 41-year-old partner would not. But the public appears to support the bill, as does the Labor Party and other opposition parties, so it is almost certain to be passed by the end of the year.
Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
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