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."
READ MORE: The ages men and women can expect to live until in Wales
UK Government health minister Sajid Javid commissioned an independent review, led by Dr Javed Khan OBE, to see how smoking can be made "obsolete". The review, published this morning, has four critical recommendations.
- Increased investment: He recommends an additional £125 million per year in smokefree 2030 policies. If the government cannot fund this themselves, they should ‘make the polluter pay’ and either introduce a tobacco industry levy, or generate additional corporation tax, with immediate effect.
- Increase the age of sale: "The government must stop young people starting to smoke, which is why I recommend increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no one can buy a tobacco product in this country.
- Promote vaping: The government must embrace the promotion of vaping as an effective tool to help people to quit smoking tobacco.
- Improve prevention in the NHS: " To reduce the £2.4 billion that smoking costs the NHS every year, the NHS must deliver on its commitments It must do more, offering smokers advice and support to quit at every interaction they have with health services, whether that be through GPs, hospitals, psychiatrists, midwives, pharmacists, dentists or optometrists. The NHS should invest to save, committing resource for this purpose."
Other interventions recommended in the report include a tobacco licence for retailers to limit the availability of tobacco across the country; a rethink of the way cigarette sticks and packets look to reduce their appeal; and a mass media campaign to encourage smokers to quit.
In 2019, the government set an objective for England to be smoke free by 2030, meaning only 5% of the population would smoke by then. Dr Khan's review found without further action, England will miss that target by at least seven years, and the poorest areas in society will not meet it until 2044.
Dr Javed Khan OBE, 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."
Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Deborah Arnott said: "Javed Khan’s report sets out an ambitious vision, combining a call on government to increase investment in tobacco control with tougher regulations, both of which are essential to achieve a smokefree 2030.
"This is what the public wants too – research by YouGov commissioned by ASH to provide evidence for the review shows a substantial majority support stronger government interventions to tackle smoking. Twelve billion pounds pours out of smokers’ pockets each year exacerbating the cost of living crisis in our poorest communities. Only by making smoking obsolete can the government deliver on its levelling up mission for health and wellbeing."
