Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Ryan Merrifield & Kieran Isgin

Legal age for buying cigarettes should rise by a year every year, report states

A new report has advised the legal age for buying cigarettes in England should rise year by year to tackle smoking.

The independent review, led by Dr Javed Khan OBE, will now be considered as part of the government's Health Disparities White Paper with a response to be published as well. It was commissioned by health secretary Sajid Javid and also sets out a variety of recommendations to help Downing Street meet its smoke-free promise by 2030.

One of the major key points in the review calls for the smoking age to increase annually until no one in the country is able to buy tobacco. Furthermore, an increased investment of £125 million per year will be injected into smoke-free policies alongside an extra £70 million a year for smoking cessation services, the Mirror reports

Read more:

In England alone, almost six millions people smoke with tobacco remaining as the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death. Quitting smoking can help prevent 15 types of cancers such as lung cancer, throat cancer and acute myeloid leukaemia.

The independent review also found that smoking causes a disproportionate burden on the most vulnerable families and communities. For example, smoking is 4.5 times higher in Burnley than in Exeter.

Smokers in the most deprived areas of the country were also found to spend a higher portion of their income on tobacco. The average smoker in the North East spends over 10 per cent of their income on tobacco, compared to just over 6 per cent in the South East.

In an attempt to protect the population from the harms of smoking, the four key interventions highlighted by Dr Khan in the review are:

  • Increased investment of an additional £125 million per year in smokefree 2030 policies, with an extra £70 million per year ringfenced for stop smoking services
  • Raising the age of sale from 18 by one year every year, until eventually no one can buy a tobacco product in this country
  • Promotion of vapes as an effective “swap to stop” tool to help people quit smoking
  • Improving prevention in the NHS so smokers are offered advice and support to quit at every interaction they have with health services

The report also recommends providing a tobacco licence for retailers to limit the availability of tobacco across the country changing the way cigarettes and packets look to reduce their appeal as well as a mass media campaign to encourage smokers to quit. Dr Khan said: “In this review I have looked at our current smokefree initiatives, along with the very best practice from around the world.

"I would like to thank the many valued voices that have made key contributions towards shaping this ambitious and bold report. Without immediate and sustained action, England will miss the smokefree target by many years and most likely decades.

"A smokefree society should be a social norm – but to achieve this, we must do more to stop people taking up smoking, help those who already smoke and support those who are disproportionately impacted by smoking. My holistic set of recommendations for government will deliver this, whilst saving lives, saving money and addressing the health disparities associated with smoking.

“My proposals are not just a plan for this government, but successive governments too. To truly achieve a smokefree society in our great country, we need to commit to making smoking obsolete, once and for all.

“It was a privilege to work on this review and get the opportunity to improve the health of people across the country, and I look forward to seeing the government’s response."

Click here for the latest headlines from the Manchester Evening News

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.