Tag: generational ban

UK Generational Smoking Ban Clears First Hurdle

TR Archive
A landmark bill in the United Kingdom to ban its younger generation from smoking has cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons.
If it becomes law, the legislation, backed by a 415 to 47 vote, would prevent anyone born after January 1, 2009, from buying tobacco.
Before then, the bill must go through further parliamentary stages, with MPs able to suggest amendments to any aspects they don’t like.
The legislation includes powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape, and nicotine products in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Other proposed measures include a total ban on vaping product advertising and sponsorship, with a possible ban on the sale of sweet vape flavors, subject to consultation.
While the numbers indicate large cross-party support, there was strong criticism from Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Reform UK MPs, who raised concerns about “civil liberties.”
The division list showed Tory leader Kemi Badenoch voted against the measure, having previously said “people born a day apart will have permanently different rights,” reports Sky News.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman, shadow immigration minister Robert Jenrick, and Sir Iain Duncan Smith were among the other high-profile Conservatives who didn’t back the bill.
While most Liberal Democrats did vote to support the bill, the party’s health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: “The introduction of a phased smoking ban is problematic and not because Liberal Democrats want to see people smoke themselves into an early grave – far from it – but because it raises issues of practicality and raises issues of civil liberties.”
November 27, 2024
C-Stores Campaign Against Age Bans
Credit: Daniel
The New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA) has launched a grassroots campaign this week to oppose generational bans on tobacco and nicotine products.
The Stoughton, Massachusetts-based association stated that the ban on tobacco sales tied to birthdate threatens civil liberties in Massachusetts. They believe that if unopposed, it could lead to local bans on various other products including gambling, alcohol, cannabis, sugary drinks, fatty foods, and caffeine.
Alex Weatherall, NECSEMA president, stated that these policies are establishing a concerning precedent by giving local boards of health the unilateral authority to determine if an individual is “adult enough” to purchase legal products statewide and nationwide, according to media reports.
Weatherall believes that this sets a dangerous precedent, adding that local officials are imposing their morality on citizens of the Commonwealth. NECSEMA said it created the advocacy group Citizens for Adult Choice to educate the public about the dangers these local bans pose for law-abiding adults in Massachusetts.
May 23, 2024
Northern Ireland to Adopt Generational Ban

Stormont (Credit: Vivacity Images)
Northern Ireland will participate in the U.K. generational tobacco ban.
The U.K. Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to phase out the sale of cigarettes. It would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, after they turn 18.
It would also provide powers to address vaping among young people. The bill is part of the U.K. government’s plan for a “smoke-free generation,” according to the BBC.
The Northern Ireland Assembly endorsed a legislative consent motion on May 21 to allow the bill to apply to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann said the bill aims to “stop people from ever starting to smoke, thus preventing a lifetime of addiction.” He dismissed arguments that the legislation is “nanny statism” and would deny people “freedom of choice.”
On vapes, he said the bill includes regulation-making powers to allow for future restrictions on vape flavors, packaging and point-of-sale displays. The bill is progressing through Parliament despite opposition from several leading Tory figures.
May 22, 2024
Scotland Welcomes Proposed U.K. Ban

Image: boygostockphoto
Scotland Public Health Minister Jenni Minto has welcomed proposed legislation to ban tobacco sales to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009, and allow for tougher measures on vaping.
The proposed legislation, which is U.K.-wide, would gradually increase the age of sale, making it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009. The bill also includes powers to regulate displays, contents, flavors and retail packaging of vapes and nicotine products, allowing restrictions to target flavors marketed at children and to move vapes out of sight of children and away from products like sweets, according to the Scottish government.
The legislation will also remove existing provisions making it illegal for those under the age of 18 to purchase tobacco products.
The government previously published proposals to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes, which, if agreed upon by the Parliament, would come into effect April 1, 2025.
“Scotland has been a world-leader on a range of tobacco control measures, and while there has been a steady reduction in the proportion of people smoking, we know it still damages lives and kills more than 8,000 people a year in Scotland,” said Minto. “Smoking is a huge burden on our NHS [National Health Service] and social care services and contributes significantly to health inequalities, which is why our goal is for a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034.
“Research suggests that almost one in five young people have tried vaping, and we’re particularly concerned about how flavors are used as an enticement to children and young people.
“We will now consider how to use these powers, if passed by Westminster, with the consent of the Scottish Parliament, to benefit public health. We will continue our four-nations approach to avoid any unnecessary regulatory divergence and to offer more certainty for business and consistency for consumers. Powers on vapes will be taken forward following further consultation and engagement.
“In addition, we were the first government to commit to taking action on single-use vapes and have now fulfilled our 2023 Program for Government commitment to consult on measures to tackle the environmental impact of single-use vapes.”
In accordance with the Sewel Convention, the bill will require the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament.
March 20, 2024
Massachusetts Court OKs Generational Ban

Brookline, Massachusetts (Credit: Wangkun Jia)
The highest court in Massachusetts ignored objections from vape shop owners and tobacco retailers and upheld the legality of a novel bylaw that bars cigarette sales to anyone born after January 1, 2000, in the town of Brookline. The restriction, the first of its kind in the United States, is designed to prevent future generations from using not only tobacco but also nicotine.
Retailers argued that the 2021 Brookline bylaw was pre-empted by a state law approved in 2018 that raised the minimum age for purchasing a tobacco product from 18 to 21, according to media reports. The retailers pointed out that the Brookline bylaw effectively means someone born after January 1, 2000, will not be able to purchase a nicotine product regardless of their age.
Over time, as the population ages, the bylaw will effectively ban the sale of tobacco products in the town.
In the Supreme Judicial Court’s unanimous opinion, written by Justice Dalila Wendlandt, the court acknowledged the Brookline bylaw is more restrictive than the state’s minimum age standard, but the justices had no issues with that. They said the bylaw “augments the state statute” by further limiting access to tobacco products to persons under the age of 21.
The court rejected claims by the tobacco retailers that the state law was designed to clarify what had become a muddled regulatory environment as municipality after municipality raised the minimum age for buying tobacco products.
“The retailers claim that the purpose of the Tobacco Act was ‘actually to benefit tobacco retailers . . . by eliminating the confusion that arises when the minimum age for purchasing tobacco varies from town to town and city to city across the Commonwealth,’” the opinion said. “To the contrary, the act reflects the legislative intent to protect young persons and other vulnerable populations from the deleterious health effects of tobacco product use.”
The case drew attention in Massachusetts and around the nation and the world and the outcome is likely to prompt more communities to follow Brookline’s lead, creating a patchwork quilt of regulation of tobacco products.
March 9, 2024