UK Bans Purchase of Tobacco Products for Anyone Born After December 2008

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said, ‘Children in the UK will be ‌part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm.’

An undated image of a woman smoking a cigarette in Ontario, Canada. Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images

Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, will not be able to legally buy cigarettes in the UK after lawmakers approved ‌new legislation on smoking.

The Tobacco and Vapes ⁠Bill, which is set to get royal assent from King Charles III, will raise the legal age for buying tobacco by one year every 12 months, starting in 2027.