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Particularly as they came from a prime minister who had previously rowed back on anti-obesity measures, citing freedom of choice.
The proposals, which are similar to legislation already passed in New Zealand, will mean the legal age for buying cigarettes and rolling tobacco increases by one year, every year, so that eventually no one is allowed to buy them.
If the law comes into force by 2027, it would mean a 14-year-old today would never legally be able to purchase tobacco.
These days, no one would argue that smoking isn’t highly damaging to health or deny the need to further cut smoking rates. But from a retailer’s point of view, the headline announcement leaves a lot of uncertainty: primarily, how will the ban be enforced?
At least with the current legal age of 18, you can have a clear Challenge 25 policy in place. How would that work on a rolling basis? Would all customers just need to show ID regardless of age?
In New Zealand, the legislation – which passed at the end of 2022 but doesn’t really kick in for another couple of years – has been accompanied by a raft of other measures, including moves to limit nicotine levels in tobacco products and drastically reduce the number of retailers allowed to sell “smoked tobacco” products.
Only 600 specialist stores across the county will be allowed to sell tobacco, down from the estimated 5,000 to 8,000 at present.
The application fee for retailers is NZ$1,475 (the equivalent of £720).
What the proposals will look like in the UK remains to be seen, but the aim is to allow MPs a free vote on the matter and Labour has said it will back Sunak.
There are further concerns about proxy purchasing and fears that the move will turbocharge the black market.
All in all, at this stage, the proposal raises more questions than answers.
David Shrimpton | Editor
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