The age at which people can buy cigarettes should be increased by a year every year until eventually no one can buy a tobacco product in this country, an independent UK Government review has said. The Welsh Government, which also has a plan to make the country smoke free, says it backs the findings and will support anything to reduce the number of young people smoking.
During the pandemic, the proportion of young adults aged 18 to 24 that smoke rose from one in four to one in three. Around 14% of people in Wales smoke and it remains the leading cause of premature deaths here. In 2018, around 5,600 deaths in people aged 35 and over and 28,000 admissions to hospital were attributable to smoking.
The Welsh Governmen t had a consultation last year as part of its target for a smoke-free Wales. Asked if they backed the plans, a Welsh Government spokesman said: "A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We support measures to strengthen the regulatory framework on tobacco and nicotine products, particularly those designed to reduce the number of young people who start smoking. We would work closely with the UK government if proposals were developed."
