Age to legally buy tobacco should increase from 18 and continue to rise each year until no one can buy, a government-commissoned review suggests today (9).
The review, ordered by health minister Sajid Javid in February, recommended 15 interventions to help the government meet its target to be ‘smokefree’ by 2030.
One of its central recommendations was: “Raising the age of sale from 18 by one year every year, until eventually no one can buy a tobacco product in this country.”
Other interventions include promoting vapes as an effective “swap to stop” tool to help people quit smoking, as well as improving prevention in the NHS so smokers are offered support to quit at every interaction they have with health services.
A tobacco licence for retailers to limit its availability across the country, a rethink of the look of cigarette sticks and packets to further reduce their appeal, and a mass media campaign to encourage smokers to quit are also some of the suggested interventions.
The review also calls for an extra £125 million a year to be invested in smoke-free policies, with a further £70 million a year ringfenced for stop smoking services.
Dr Javed Khan, the former chief executive of children’s charity Barnardo’s, who led the review, said: “Without immediate and sustained action, England will miss the smoke-free target by many years and most likely decades.
“A smoke-free 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.
The recommendations will now be considered by ministers and a response will be published as part of the government’s health disparities white paper.
Meanwhile, ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has raised concerns about the impact of a recommendation to raise the minimum age of sale by one year every year.
ACS has welcomed proposals for more funding to tackle the illicit tobacco market.
“Increasing the legal age of sale by one year every year would disrupt the very effective measures put in place to enforce an age restriction at 18, which applies not just for tobacco but to many of the products local shops sell,” ACS chief executive James Lowman said.
“We need to look at how this would work in practice, but it looks like it would be operationally very challenging for small shops. Underage smokers aren’t buying tobacco from shops, who have an excellent record of implementing the Challenge25 policy, but from friends, family and the black market.”
Speaking about licence for retailers, Lowman said that the proposals “need to be fleshed out, with clarity over what this measure would be trying to achieve”.
“Licensing restrictions that stop new entrants from entering the market damage investment and the provision of all the products and services we sell. Ultimately, those who are selling tobacco illegally now without being caught would just continue to do so without seeking a licence,” Lowman said.
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