U.K. Industry Braces for New Taxes, Higher Smoking Age

Source from:  Tobacco reporter 06/09/2022

The tobacco industry is bracing for new taxes and a higher minimum tobacco sales age in the U.K. The plans are expected to feature in recommendations to be announced tomorrow (June 9) by Javed Khan, a former CEO of Barnardo’s, who was commissioned by health secretary Sajid Javid to conduct an independent review into tobacco control.

While the specifics of the plan remain unknown, one industry representative told The Guardian that the early version of the review had been “very radical,” including a tobacco levy, and an option to consider the New Zealand approach of increasing the purchase age by a year, each year, with an aim to totally ban tobacco sales. New Zealand’s progressive ban on cigarette and tobacco sales means that anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy the products.

According to The Guardian, some in government are skeptical about the proposed changes to the legal age limit, as well as further tax rises. David Canzini, the influential deputy chief of staff in Downing Street, has advised Prime Minister Boris Johnson to get rid of as many policies as possible that may be unpopular with Members of Parliament or traditional Conservative voters.

However, after abandoning parts of Johnson’s obesity strategy, the health secretary has been keen to keep the target of having 5 percent or fewer smokers by 2030, which also has the potential to be ditched as a “nanny state” policy that Tory backbenchers oppose, according to The Guardian.

If you can legally have sex at 16, drive a car at 17 and purchase alcohol at 18, you should be allowed to make an informed choice to buy tobacco at 18.

Campaigners have slammed the proposal to raise the smoking age in Britain.

“You don’t have to be 21 to know that smoking is potentially harmful to your health. It’s drummed into every child from an early age,” said Simon Clark, director of the smoker rights’ group Forest.

“If you can legally have sex at 16, drive a car at 17 and purchase alcohol at 18, you should be allowed to make an informed choice to buy tobacco at 18.”

There are 6 million smokers in England and tobacco use increased by 25 percent among the under-30s during the pandemic, a rise of more than 600,000 smokers in that age bracket. Overall, rates have been falling for the past two decades to less than 15 percent.