Great Britain Plans to Introduce Strict Smoking Laws

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering the possibility of adopting the world's toughest smoking law, which will de facto prohibit future generations from buying tobacco products.

This was reported by The Guardian.

Sources in Whitehall have reported that the Prime Minister is considering the introduction of measures similar to those adopted by New Zealand last December.

The law involves a continuous increase in the legal smoking age until tobacco can no longer be purchased by those born on or after January 1, 2009.

The regulations introduced in New Zealand also encourage reducing the nicotine content in cigarettes and limit the places where they can be sold. Cigarettes in the country are sold only in specialized stores, abandoning sales in 24-hour shops and supermarkets.

Earlier, British Labour Party members had already announced consultations on gradually banning cigarettes for young people in Great Britain, and the Shadow Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated his intention to find out if there is an "appetite for change" in the country.

Smoking is a deadly habit, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of people each year, placing a heavy burden on healthcare and the economy. We want to encourage more people to quit smoking and achieve our ambitious goal of eliminating smoking by 2030, so we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates," the British government said.

According to the publication, these measures are part of a new "consumer-oriented" policy that the Prime Minister and his team are trying to implement in light of next year's upcoming elections.

Additionally, during the election campaign, last year's promise by the Prime Minister to impose fines on people who miss visits to therapists or doctors may return for discussion.

It is worth noting that recently, it has also become known that the French government will soon present a new plan to combat smoking, which, among other things, will include a ban on disposable electronic cigarettes.

"People may tell us that this is not nicotine. But it's a reflex, a gesture that young people get used to. This is how they start smoking, and it needs to be stopped," said French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.

In May of this year, French officials already announced their intentions to completely ban electronic cigarettes, which are increasingly common among young people