Smoking in United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, smoking is allowed but tobacco products are subject to certain regulations. Under these regulations, there is a complete ban on all forms of tobacco advertising. Cigarettes can be purchased online, but not through vending machines. The importation of cigarettes for trade is allowed with an import license. Additionally, health warnings on cigarette packaging are required, and the minimum legal age for purchase is 18 years. Legal restrictions on smoking in public places are also enforced. Cigarettes in the UK are subject to an excise tax of 50.56% and a total taxation rate of 83.72%. Statistics show a gradual decline in the current smoking prevalence in the UK since 2000. There were approximately 6.7 million current adult smokers in the country in 2024, representing an adult current smoking prevalence of 11.8%. This was 13.1% in 2022, and 27.1% in 2000. Smoking prevalence was higher among males with 13.6% than among females with 10.1% in 2024. Daily smoking prevalence among adults was 9.1% overall, 8.1% among females, and 10.2% among males in 2024. In 2021, smoking led to 75,848 deaths in the UK, of which 44,400 deaths were among males and 31,448 deaths were among females. This shows that smoking consisted 11.05% of all deaths in the country, including 12.6% of all male deaths and 9.42% of all female deaths.
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October 25, 2023 by spiked-online.com
The war on vaping is bad for our health
The UK government has declared war on nicotine. First, prime minister Rishi Sunak promised to ban cigarettes for everyone born after 2008. And now, health secretary Steve Barclay is looking to clamp down on e-cigarettes, supposedly to tackle the rise in youth vaping. Price rises, flavour bans and plain packaging are among the measures under consideration in a consultation launched earlier this month. The government thinks that these new restrictions will help save lives – but clamping down on vapes would actually be harmful to our health.
October 19, 2023 by radio-canada.ca
The U.K. and New Zealand want to ban the next generation from smoking at any age. Should Canada follow?
Officials elsewhere want to create the first 'smoke-free generation' As some countries move toward banning the next generation from smoking, experts here say Canada should weigh whether a similar ban could work to stop youth from picking up the habit. [...] Experts who study teen smoking and vaping habits say although these smoking bans don't necessarily target vaping, a public discussion about a generational smoking ban and what that could look like in Canada is warranted. There are lots of contextual factors that come to play that we really need to consider when we are thinking about implementing something like this in Canada, said Laura Struik, [...]
October 12, 2023 by ft.com
UK launches consultation over crackdown on disposable vapes
The UK has launched a consultation into restricting the sale of vapes, as both major political parties support imposing much harsher rules on the sale of enticing disposable e-cigarettes that have soared in popularity among children. Health secretary Steve Barclay said on Thursday the government was planning to “clamp down” on the sale of disposable vapes, particularly focusing on the “way they’re being marketed to kids, presenting them like sweets”. He noted, however, that the government wanted to “get the balance right”, acknowledging that vaping can be helpful for adults who are trying to reduce or quit smoking.
October 12, 2023 by filtermag.org
Plan to Raise Smoking Age Yearly in England Draws Mixed Reactions
Rishi Sunak, prime minister of the United Kingdom, wants to increase the age at which people can buy tobacco and cigarettes by one year, every year—from the current minimum of 18, to the point where sales are effectively prohibited altogether. If passed, the proposed law will take effect in 2027. It will mean that anyone born on or after January 1, 2009—those who are currently under 15—will never be able to buy cigarettes legally in England.
October 11, 2023 by bbc.com
Vapes should be prescription only, Mark Drakeford says
The first minister said he was "attracted" to Australia's policy of restricting the sale of vapes to pharmacies. He has backed UK government plans that could see a ban on disposable vapes. Medical experts had "significant differences" of opinion over whether they helped people quit tobacco, he added. Mr Drakeford said: "In Australia for example the only way you can get an e-cigarette is by prescription. You can't buy them in shops. "Only through a medical prescription as part of a supervised attempt to give up smoking are they available. "And do you know, I would be attracted to that idea myself."
October 11, 2023 by filtermag.org
Vapes Can Free Up Vast Health Care Resources, Economist Explains
Tobacco harm reduction directly saves lives. But by reducing smoking-related diseases, it also has the potential to free up precious health care resources for reallocation to other pressing concerns. What kind of scale are we talking about? That’s where an economist could help us. Francesco Moscone is a professor of business economics at Brunel University in the United Kingdom, and professor of public finance at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. His latest study, published in the British Journal of Healthcare Management, investigates the savings the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) could make if more people switch from smoking to safer nicotine options like vapes.
October 10, 2023 by thesun.co.uk
UP IN SMOKE UK to defy calls for vaping ban – as ministers defend ‘swap-to-stop’ quit aid for smokers
The World Health Organisation will call for COP10 countries to clamp down harder or even ban e-cigarettes, which it calls “harmful to health and not safe”. But England this year launched the world’s first government scheme to offer free vapes to smokers to help them kick the killer habit. Now the UK delegation will reject policies that jeopardise our revolutionary programme – instead offering advice to nations that want to follow our lead. Tory MP Craig Whittaker said: “It is essential that at COP10 we stand up for our record and policies as a world leader on tobacco harm reduction.
October 05, 2023 by independent.co.uk
How to talk to kids about cigarettes and vapes, following Rishi Sunak’s smoke-free generation plans
Stopping the nation from smoking has long been a top priority for medical experts, families and governments, and PM Rishi Sunak has made his plans for the issues clear. At the 2023 Conservative Party Conference, Sunak said that the legal age for buying tobacco should rise every year from those born in 2009 in a bid to “try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place”. He said: “A 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette” under new legislation he is proposing for England.
October 04, 2023 by capx.co
Banning disposable vapes is a gift for black market criminals
The Government’s rumoured plan to ban disposable vapes under the guise of protecting children is nothing short of a spectacular misstep. Let’s be clear: the imperative of safeguarding our children from harm is understandable. However, the decision to ban disposable vapes is a classic example of heavy-handed, knee-jerk regulation that threatens to ignite a new black market right under the government’s nose. Much like the ban on vaping products in Australia, which only served to create a thriving underground market, the UK’s ban is destined for the same disastrous outcome.
October 04, 2023 by filtermag.org
Uproar as “95 Percent Safer” Message Blamed for Youth Vaping
A prominent British physician has sparked controversy by blaming the country’s message that vapes are “95 percent safer” than cigarettes for youth vaping. Interviewed by the BBC, Dr. Mike McKean, vice-president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that communicating this was “a very unwise thing to have done and it’s opened the door to significant chaos.” “There are many young people who have taken up vaping who never intended to smoke and are now likely addicted to vaping,” said McKean. “And I think it’s absolutely shocking that we’ve allowed this to happen.”