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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Nils Pratley

Rishi Sunak’s crackdown will not stub out share prices of tobacco firms

A person smokes in London, Britain, 04 October 2023. after Rishi Sunak said that MPs would be given a free vote in parliament on rising the age at which people can buy cigarettes and tobacco in England by one year every year
The economics of the tobacco industry remain solid. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

Did “the biggest public health intervention in a generation” whack the share prices of tobacco firms? Well, it caused a slight cough.

Imperial Brands – the firm behind Embassy, JPS, Lambert & Butler and Rizla – was a big faller in the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday as Rishi Sunak unveiled his plan to make it illegal for anybody currently aged 14 or younger to buy a cigarette in England in their lifetime.

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