Everyone in England could eventually be banned from buying cigarettes under a Labour government, it emerged today.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he “will be consulting” on raising the smoking age by one year every year until no one can buy tobacco.
The eye-catching idea was included last year in a major review for the Tory government by Javed Khan, the former head of Barnardo’s.
His report suggested radical measures to help England become ‘smoke-free’ by 2030, including an investment of £125million per year.
Dr Khan recommended “increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no one can buy a tobacco product in this country”.
Last month New Zealand passed a similar law, which said tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born after 1 January 2009.
Asked if buying cigarettes should eventually be outlawed, Mr Streeting said we “have to think radically”.
He told the BBC ’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “We’re going to consult on a whole package of measures to tackle smoking in this country.
“The government’s not on course to meet its 2030 target.
“And one of the things that was recommended to the government in one of their reviews was phasing out the sale of cigarettes altogether over time.
“We’ll be consulting on that, and a whole range of other measures.”
He added: “The New Zealand government are doing it, we want to see how that works.
“I’m genuinely curious, if we’re going to get the NHS back on track we also need to focus on public health.
“And I’m curious to know where the voters are on this, where the country is and what appetite exists for change.”
Tory ministers have not yet published a new Tobacco Control Plan in response to the recommendations.
Sajid Javid, who was Health Secretary in June, said at the time he would “carefully consider the recommendations” before making a decision.
