The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has responded to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill gaining Royal Assent and becoming law.
This historic step towards a smoke-free UK will make it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 to protect people from the harms of tobacco. The legislation means today’s children will never legally be sold cigarettes.
Responding, Professor Sanjay Agrawal, RCP special adviser on tobacco, said: ‘This is a landmark moment for public health in the UK.
‘Every week I treat patients whose lives have been irreversibly damaged by smoking. It remains the single biggest preventable cause of illness and death in the UK. The evidence is clear: stopping people from ever starting to smoke is the most effective way to end the cycle of addiction and disease.
‘This legislation gives today’s children, and future generations, the chance to live in a society where smoking is consigned to history books. This means fewer people developing chronic disease, fewer hospital admissions, and fewer years of life lost early.
‘A better future for the nation's health starts today.’