British Health Secretary Wes Streeting pledged to tighten smoking laws with a "more ambitious" bill during a new NHS consultation event he attended with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, according to a report in The Independent on 21 October.
The plan is expected to be announced in 2025 and will make greater use of data and technology. Streeting said the combination of genetic testing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and big data will help predict and prevent disease.
He highlighted that new legislation will gradually raise the legal age to buy tobacco, with the aim of preventing people born after 1 January 2009 from legally smoking.
Streeting told reporters at a medical facility in East London on Monday (21): "We will introduce the tobacco and e-cigarettes bill before Christmas. In fact, discussions on tobacco and e-cigarette measures have already started and we are listening to the public".
In addition, the UK government is considering a smoking ban, which has caused concern in certain sectors of the entertainment industry.
Streeting pointed out that the balance between public health benefits and personal freedoms and commercial interests needs to be addressed.
"When the new anti-smoking legislation is introduced, it will be more ambitious than the previous government's bill, with the significant importance being that the children growing up now will become the first "smoke-free generation." This change will greatly impact one of the biggest health threats in our country," he said.
In addition, charities and health experts have expressed disappointment that the bill was shelved after the election.
Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said in a statement: "This will be legislation that all politicians involved will be proud of for years to come."
"The debate on the scope of the new legislation is crucial. But the real debate must not be undermined by those with commercial interests hiding behind liberal arguments. There is no freedom in addiction.
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