Photo: Christian Filardo
The old-school cigarette has been fizzling out for a while now, as its younger and fruitier vape cousin takes centre stage. But now its end is officially in sight in the UK: Rishi Sunak has just announced a year-on-year increase in the legal smoking age, meaning that no one under 15 today will ever be able to buy cigarettes. It’s a lot like the Tory housing policy, really. The prime minister announced the move at the Conservative Party Conference this week, calling it the “biggest public health intervention in a generation”. If passed, the policy will give the UK some of the world's toughest smoking rules, effectively phasing out smoking completely for future generations. Many campaigners and health experts welcome the proposals: Smoking costs the UK an estimated £17 billion every year, according to research by Action on Smoking and Health, and causes around one in four cancer deaths. Labour have also said they’ll back the policy – arguing they will "not play politics with public health" – making it very likely to pass through Parliament. The move does have some weird implications, though: It means that in about 20 years, 35-year-olds might have to sheepishly ask 36-year-olds to buy them a pack of Marlboros from the offy. Other critics warn that an outright ban could lead to a tobacco black market. Yes, as in dealers might smuggle people packets of Riszla on street corners.Whatever you think of the policy, it will make Britain will look very different in a few decades time – it marks the end of an era for club smoking areas, for one. It comes just a month after a ban on laughing gas, and a few weeks after a proposed ban on disposable vapes. All those NOS cannisters and cigarette butts that have become a feature of every UK street curb will be a thing of the past, destined for indie sleaze photo books and nostalgic Instagram accounts.
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