The British Parliament adopted this week a law aiming to make the UK a progressively tobacco-free country, by banning for life the sale of cigarettes to all people born after 2008.
It becomes the first country in Europe and the second in the world to take such a measure, after the Maldives. Here are five things to know about this legislation, which has been hailed as "historic" and a major turning point by NGOs.
What does it contain?
People born on or after January 1, 2009, who are currently aged 17 or younger, will never be allowed to buy tobacco products, such as cigarettes, in the UK, even as adults.
The legislation also strengthens the government's powers to regulate vaping products, which often contain nicotine and are popular with young people due to their flavours and colourful packaging, and which will now be deprived of advertising.
Single-use "puffs" have already been banned since June 2025. The government may also ban vaping in certain places where smoking is already prohibited, and extend the smoking ban to children's playgrounds or around schools.
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Why such a law?
The UK had 5.3 million adult smokers in 2024, representing nearly 101% of the population. The highest proportion is found among 25-34 year olds. according to the National Statistics Office (ONS).
Their numbers are at their lowest since 2011, when statistics began, but smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the UK, with around 80,000 deaths each year, according to the government.
According to a YouGov poll for the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) association in 2025More than two-thirds of Britons support this generational ban. The legal sale of tobacco will disappear over the course of a 17-year-old's lifetime. That's a real shift in mindset.“,” emphasizes Hazel Cheeseman, the executive director of ASH. Smoking will not stop completely in this age group, but it will decrease drastically.", especially since only 71% of 17-year-old Britons smoke today," she points out.
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When will it come into effect?
Following its adoption on April 20, the text still requires royal assent – a formality – which is expected soon. Its measures will come into effect on different dates, some of which are still subject to consultation. The ban on sales to children born after 2008 will begin on January 1, 2027, the year they reach the age of majority.
The legal selling age will be raised by one year – 19, 20, 21… – each year so that they can never legally buy cigarettes. Thanks to this, teenagers “ will not experience the social pressure that many of us did." Christine Methnani, a 66-year-old nurse in northern England, told AFP.
How will it be implemented?
Smokers themselves will not be penalized. However, any retailer who breaks the law by selling tobacco products or related products (such as rolling papers) to someone born after 2008 will be liable to a fixed fine of 200 pounds (230 euros).
Some opponents of the law have highlighted the risk of creating a black market. This is a common argument put forward by the tobacco industry, but it hasn't happened. "when the legal selling age was raised from 16 to 18 in 2007, for example," points out Alizée Froguel, strategic manager of the organization Cancer Research UK.
Moreover, she judges " likely "that the industrialists are challenging the new law in court."
And in the world?
The United Kingdom will be the second country in the world to implement a generational ban. after the MaldivesAccording to the British government, the archipelago of 500,000 inhabitants banned the sale of tobacco to young people born after January 1, 2007, in November.
In France, the Green Party MP Nicolas Thierry has submitted a bill cross-party proposal to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2014. Similar proposals have been filed in the US states of Hawaii and Indiana.
New Zealand had been a pioneer in adopting a ban for anyone born after 2008, but the Conservatives, upon coming to power in 2023, abandoned the measure, which was never implemented.
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