A draft law in the UK to create a "smoke-free generation" by banning smoking for anybody born after 2008 has cleared both houses of parliament. Only the king's signature remains for it to become law.
  • Technically, the new law will raise the legal age requirement in the UK for buying cigarettes, cigars or tobacco, which is currently 18, by one year in every subsequent year, starting on January 1, 2027
  • This will effectively mean that people born on or after January 1, 2009 will never be eligible to buy them
  • Retailers will face financial penalties for selling the products to those not entitled to them
  • The government will also be empowered to impose a new registration system for smoking and vaping products entering the country, seeking to improve oversight
  • The bill will expand the UK’s indoor smoking ban to a series of outdoor public spaces, for instance in children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals
  • Most indoor spaces that are designated smoke-free will become vape-free as well
  • Smoking in designated areas outside pubs and bars and other hospitality settings will remain permissible
  • Smoking and vaping will remain legal in people’s homes
  • Vaping will become illegal in cars if someone under the age of 18 is inside, to match existing rules on smoking
  • Advertising for smoking and vaping products will be banned
  • People aged 18 or older will remain eligible to purchase vaping products, but some items targeted at younger consumers like disposable vapes have already been outlawed as part of the program
  • rwrwefwef@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    66·
    4 days ago

    What enforcement? Anyone born after 2008 would be at most 17. Not sure about British law, but assuming majority is at 18, they weren’t supposed to smoke anyway. It creates no black market that doesn’t already exist.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish
      185·
      4 days ago

      You realize this law keeps rolling, right? So today, a 17 year old is ineligable because he’s not 18. But a year from now that same 17 year old is now 18, but becomes ineligable because they aren’t 19. And when they turn 19, they aren’t 20. And 10 years from now the 17 year old today would be 27, ineligable because he’s not 28.

      That’s how it creates a black market.

      • ChexMax@lemmy.worldEnglish
        32·
        2 days ago

        Right, but the idea is that most people under 18 haven’t already started smoking because it’s illegal and inconvenient. So you just keep that ball rolling for anyone who hasn’t started.

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          You think people under the age of 18 don’t smoke? When I was in 6th grade (so 12 years old) I used to make about $100 a week selling cigerettes individually for $1 per cigerette. This was in the mid 90s, so adjusted for inflation that would be like $270 a week today.

          And all I did was walk up and down the sidewalks, and find half smoked cigerettes. Stole individual cigerettes from adults packs. And bought them from vending machines.

          I don’t smoke, and never did, but it was easy money selling stolen cigerettes to 12 year olds. The only reason I ever stopped is I grew up. It would be a LOT more suspicious seeing a 42 year old today walking the halls of a school trying to peddle cigerettes to kids.

          Plus, teens today see cigerettes as old guard. They’re all about vapes today.

          Which is getting off topic. The point is, teenagers smoke. Teenagers drink. None of it is legal. Yet it always happens in every generation.

          The only thing the youth of today do anything different from literally every generation before them, is they aren’t having sex with each other. Which makes me glad I’m 42, and was young 30 years ago.