In the past few weeks, the UK government has tabled a historic bill in Parliament that seeks to reduce the smoking prevalence and embarks on a smoking free future. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to tighten tobacco control through a number of advances in restrictions. Primary points include allowing purchasing of tobacco products at 20 years of age and increasing by the year one year above 20 every year. This suggests that anyone born on the first day of January 2009 and afterwards will never be of legal age to purchase cigarettes.
The bill is also intended to improve the strategic vector of the UK government in combating the smoking cause, which kills almost 80000 people every year. Although there is said to have been a sharp decline in the prevalence of smoking in the last few decades, official statistics still report that around 6.4 million people or approximately 13% of the population are smokers.
The bill has been presented to the public as the preventive measure needed to disrupt the cycle of addiction and create a health promoting environment that is free from tobacco.
The new health act proposed by Minister Wes Streeting is aimed at what he claims is “an industry that has young people at the core of its strategy.” In this regard, the bill seeks to not only raise the minimum age of the purchase of tobacco products but to also regulate tobacco products… Introduced near the end of the day, the most far reaching provision seeks to prohibit child friendly colors of vape packaging and advertising which are intended for the young, and impose some restrictions on the vape.
Also, the bill aims at making smoking prohibitions to cover some outdoor places, which include playgrounds and vicinity to school and hospital entrances, as a means of minimizing second hand smoking. However, such legislation does not include, and in fact forbids, any proposals on smoking in beer gardens of pubs, as the hospitality industry has suffered greatly of late. If enacted, the bill would give the UK some of the most comprehensive anti-smoking laws anywhere in the world, which serves as a testimony to the government’s resolve in embracing the public health agenda.
Despite the Tobacco and Vapes Bill finding its way in the Committee stage of parliament, its introduction cannot be overemphasized as it marks an important step in the attempts to address the problems caused by tobacco use and protect young people from nicotine addiction in the years to come.
The enactment of the bill would be an achievement towards the continued world tobacco control leadership of the UK.
