Can Rishi Sunak create a smoke-free generation? podcast

Before 2007, going out on the town in Britain meant breathing in second-hand smoke – on trains, in restaurants, in clubs and in pubs. Even non-smokers would notice that a stale tobacco smell can linger after a night out. The ban on indoor smoking in public places changed things almost overnight.

As the number of smokers in the population plummets, the government is going one step further: it plans to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born before 2009. From that age category onwards, the sale of cigarettes would be prohibited.

If Ben Quinnthe political correspondent of The Guardian, tells Helen Pidd, it’s a policy that has never been tried anywhere else in the world. New Zealand came close, but ultimately failed to impose a similar ban. Critics are lining up to label it unworkable and illiberal.

The government admits that this will lead to apparent absurdities where in the future a 40-year-old will no longer be allowed to buy cigarettes, but his 41-year-old partner will not. But the public appears to support the bill – and with support from Labor and other opposition parties, it is almost certain to become law this year.

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