The UK government has passed one of the strongest anti-smoking laws in the world, which means that children under 18 will face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes. The aim is to create the first ever smoke-free generation while helping to save lives and ease pressure of the health service.
The current generation of school children will never be allowed to legally buy cigarettes when they grow up. The legal age is currently 18 but under the government's new Tobacco and Vapes Act, the age limit will rise each year, affecting anyone 17 years old or younger. The move has been welcomed as a game changer by the anti-smoking lobby.
The new law was supported by all the main political parties. Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has also hailed the move.
"So the genius of this policy is that it kind of starts small, but gains impact over time. So from the 1st of January next year, the first young people will be protected from the sale of tobacco. And then over time, that cohort will grow and grow and grow as people age into the policy," she said.
The government estimates that raising the age of sale each year will prevent almost half a million cases of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases caused by long-term cigarette use by 2100, saving the health and care system billions of dollars.
A global phenomenon
Tobacco first came to Europe following the discovery of the Americas. Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal that he had observed the indigenous Taino people smoking the dried leaves during his first voyage in 1492.
The habit quickly caught on in England but it was the mass production of cigarettes which turned smoking into a global phenomenon. Since the 1960s, after the health hazards of smoking were finally acknowledged, successive governments have tried to curb the habit, with health warnings, high taxes, eliminating advertising and banning use in public places.
The Smokers Paradise tobacco shop in the city of London can trace its origins back centuries and claims to be the first to import cigars to Britain in the 1840s. It was originally housed in an historic building opposite the Bank of England (cartoons of wealthy bankers were often characterized as smoking big fat cigars). But the current owners had to move into a much smaller shop nearby, a sign of the changing times.
The walls of the narrow shop are lined with shelves offering cigars, tobacco, cigarettes and increasingly vapes. The shop's director Mukesh Gaglani now wonders just how much longer the business will survive.
"People will either have to retire or close the business," Gaglani said. "The tobacco industry in the UK has dramatically changed. It has transformed from a heavily mainstream consumer goods industry to a declining and restricted market. The focus has changed, transforming the tobacco industry into a nicotine industry rather than tobacco."
Not a quick fix
People on the street expressed a range of reactions to the new law.
"I do think it's important that children don't have access to it, I feel like that's very important," said Minola Slaveschi, a 21-year-old student. "There’s a few too many minors and teenagers that have access to tobacco that's not really so good for them."
Meanwhile, 23-year-old tennis player Harry Jordan was less impressed.
"Banning it is probably bad because when you ban things, people just get it through alternative means. Drugs are banned but people do drugs," said Jordan. "It's good that they're taking a step, but they need to do it in a way that's not just going to say stop."
The government initially encouraged vaping as a way of getting people to quit cigarettes. But many young people who never smoked, now vape. It is estimated that 400,000 11 to 17-year-olds are regular users.
There will be no restrictions on adults buying vapes in the future. But the new legislation will crack down on underage use, registering vape shops, limiting advertising and doing away with many of the colourful fruit flavoured vapes which are seen as targeting young people.
This new Tobacco and Vapes Act is not intended as a quick fix but by raising the age of sale it is hoped this will virtually eliminate smoking in under 30s, creating the first smoke-free generation by 2050.