“Stopping the start”—new tobacco control measures for England
BMJ 2023; 383 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p2358 (Published 13 October 2023) Cite this as: BMJ 2023;383:p2358
- Sanjay Agrawal, consultant in respiratory and intensive care medicine1,
- John Britton, emeritus professor of epidemiology2
- 1University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trusts, Leicester, UK
- 2University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Correspondence to: S Agrawal sanjay.agrawal{at}uhl-tr.nhs.uk
On 4 October 2023 the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, announced his intention to introduce legislation ensuring that from 1 January 2027, and on the same day every year thereafter, the minimum age of sale for tobacco would rise by one year. If enacted, people aged 14 and under today will never be able legally to purchase cigarettes, making England only the second country (after New Zealand) to introduce this measure.
Current adult smokers will be unaffected by the new law. But Sunak also announced new funding for media campaigns to encourage current smokers to stop smoking (£15m; €17m; $18m) and for trading standards offices to reduce underage sales and counter illicit tobacco and vape markets (£30m); a doubling of the budget for local government stop smoking services (£130m); and a review of packaging, disposable vapes, point of sale displays, and other levers to limit the uptake of vaping products in children and young people.1 The devolved nations of the UK have indicated they may adopt similar measures.
The new funding …
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