The UK is set to bar anyone born after 2008 from ever buying cigarettes as part of a push to make future generations completely smoke-free.
The United Kingdom’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill was passed by Parliament on Monday and is set to soon be signed into law by King Charles.
Once it takes affect in January 2027, anybody currently 17 and under — or born after Jan. 1, 2009 — will be banned from buying cigarettes, cigars or tobacco in the future, according to the BBC.
Upcoming generations in the UK will forever be banned from buying cigarettes under legislation that passed Parliament this week. PA Images via Getty Images The bill ensures that by raising the UK’s legal limit to purchase tobacco products — currently 18 — by one year every year from here on out, effectively blocking future generations from buying them forever.
Smoking itself will still be legal. It remains unclear whether older people will be able to give cigarettes to the younger generation that falls under the ban.
UK lawmakers said they are hopeful the “landmark” legislation will create a “smoke-free generation.”
“It is a landmark bill, my lords, it will create a smoke-free generation,” said Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron.
“It is, in fact, the biggest public health intervention in a generation, and I can assure all noble Lords that it will save lives.”
The ban will apply to every country in the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
It has been in the works since 2024 and is one of the first of its kind in the world.
The Maldives islands in the Indian Ocean have a similar ban, while New Zealand became the first country to pass such a bill in 2023.
The legislation is intended to make the future UK generations completely smoke-free in coming years. In Pictures via Getty Images But New Zealand’s ban was overturned within a year after government leadership changed.
Vaping products — so long as they are tobacco-free — do not fall under the UK’s expected ban, DW.com reported.
But most indoor spaces already smoke-free will become vape-free, too.
Playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals will now be smoke-free, along with other locations.
Smoking will still be allowed in designated zones outside the likes of pubs and restaurants and in homes.
Some critics decried the legislation as an overstep that fails to get to the core of why people smoke — and how to stop them.
“What we really need is a proper understanding of how we educate people not to take up smoking,” said conservative MP Lord Naseby.
