Smoke free by 2030: MPs want to BAN cigarette sales to all under-21s in crackdown
Smoking and vaping: NHS shows difference between the two
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The all-party collective said in a report the move would help stop an industry that “kills people for profit”. The proposal is part of the parliamentary group’s push to make Britain cigarette-free by 2030 and backs a public consultation on changing the legal age of sale from 18 to 21.
The Government has already vowed to make the nation “smoke-free” by 2030.
The pledge aims to ensure less than five percent of the population in Britain is a smoker.
The current rate of adult smokers in the UK sits at around 14 percent.
Bob Blackman MP, the chairman of the group, said the proposal suggests ways the Government can achieve its target by 2030.
He said: “Our report sets out measures which will put us on track to achieve the Government’s ambition to end smoking by 2030, but they can’t be delivered without funding.
“Tobacco manufacturers make extreme profits selling highly addictive, lethal products, while government coffers are bare because of Covid-19.
“The manufacturers have the money, they should be made to pay to end the epidemic.”
The report comes after five councils in the north of England issued bans on smoking outside pubs and restaurants.
These are Manchester City, Northumberland, Newcastle, Durham and North Tyneside.
A sixth council, North Oxfordshire, is expected to become “smoke-free” by 2025.
A spokeswoman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “Oxfordshire has set itself an ambitious aim to be smoke-free by 2025.
“Creating healthy, smoke-free environments – including considering proposals for hospitality outdoor seating to be 100 percent smoke-free – is just one small part of a wider range of county-wide plans.
“At present, there are no timeframes for smoke-free pavement licensing proposals and nothing has yet been agreed.”
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