New Labour Government Proposed Bill to Raise Legal Age for Tobacco Purchase

Regulations by 2FIRSTS.ai

Jul.18.2024

New Labour Government Proposed Bill to Raise Legal Age for Tobacco Purchase

New Labour government proposes tobacco and e-cigarette bill to raise purchasing age and restrict marketing to children.

According to Politico's report on July 17th, the British government confirmed in a speech on Wednesday (the 17th) that the new Labour government will propose a bill to gradually increase the legal age for purchasing cigarettes and impose restrictions on the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes.

According to the proposed Tobacco and E-cigarette Act, children born on or after January 1, 2009, will never be able to legally purchase tobacco products.

The bill will also prohibit the branding and advertising of e-cigarettes and other nicotine products aimed at children.

The Tobacco and E-Cigarette Bill was initially proposed by the previous Conservative government and was passed in the House of Commons through a vote in April.

The bill has also passed the committee review stage, but still needs to go through three readings in the lower house, three readings in the upper house, amendments, and royal assent before becoming law.

However, the King's speech did not mention the previous government's separate ban on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes in the region of England, which was originally set to take effect in April next year.

In January of this year, then opposition leader Keir Starmer criticized the Conservative government for failing to timely ban disposable e-cigarettes. However, when the Labour Party, led by Starmer, released their election manifesto in June, this policy was not mentioned.

References:

[1] UK’s Labour to reintroduce tobacco ban, but backs off on disposable vapes

Also Read:

[1] UK Government Releases List of Registered Cross-Border E-Cigarette Retailers

[2] Special Report | Will UK Vaping Policy Shift After PM Sunak's Election Defeat?

[3] Concerns Rise as Illegal E-Cigarettes Target UK Children

[4] Scotland Urged to Implement Disposable E-Cigarette Ban Post-Election

#Europe #Traditional tobacco #Legislation #United Kingdom

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