A draft law in the UK to create a "smoke-free generation" by banning smoking for anybody born after 2008 has cleared both houses of parliament. Only the king's signature remains for it to become law.
  • Technically, the new law will raise the legal age requirement in the UK for buying cigarettes, cigars or tobacco, which is currently 18, by one year in every subsequent year, starting on January 1, 2027
  • This will effectively mean that people born on or after January 1, 2009 will never be eligible to buy them
  • Retailers will face financial penalties for selling the products to those not entitled to them
  • The government will also be empowered to impose a new registration system for smoking and vaping products entering the country, seeking to improve oversight
  • The bill will expand the UK’s indoor smoking ban to a series of outdoor public spaces, for instance in children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals
  • Most indoor spaces that are designated smoke-free will become vape-free as well
  • Smoking in designated areas outside pubs and bars and other hospitality settings will remain permissible
  • Smoking and vaping will remain legal in people’s homes
  • Vaping will become illegal in cars if someone under the age of 18 is inside, to match existing rules on smoking
  • Advertising for smoking and vaping products will be banned
  • People aged 18 or older will remain eligible to purchase vaping products, but some items targeted at younger consumers like disposable vapes have already been outlawed as part of the program
  • michaelmrose@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    13 hours ago

    Actually prohibition drastically increases price, perceived risk, and social acceptability all of which decrease usage. If you mean that prohibition doesn’t make everyone stop using that would be a duh. Society would greatly benefit from decreased usage alone due to decreased medical productivity and deaths…

    The most famous “failed” prohibition on this side of the water in the US initially decreased alcohol usage to 30% of its former usage immediately prior to prohibition. Eventually it rose to ~60% but didn’t recover to anything like prior levels until prohibition was ended.

    There is another notable factor though. This allows all current addicts to continue consuming their legal fix which can be sold at the corner store but incentivizes all these multitudes of legal avenues to shut out new customers or be shut themselves. These new customers those born from 2008-2017 will initially be a small market for any black market sales probably poorly served unlike the market created by prohibition. If less of these folks initially get hooked early there is statistical reason to believe far fewer of them ever will. By the time those born in 2018-2027 reach maturity between 2036-2045 many of the older folks will be dead and the generation above them will have a much lower prevalence of smoking.