Bill banning people born after 2008 from buying tobacco clears UK parliament

Smoking leads to 400,000 hospital admissions and 64,000 deaths a year in England alone. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

A bill banning anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco in the UK has completed its progress through parliament in a move that ministers hope will create a “smoke-free generation”.

Under the tobacco and vapes bill anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to be legally sold tobacco across the UK, in an effort to save lives and reduce the burden on the NHS.