Help create a smokefree generation

The UK is embarking on the most significant public health measure in a generation: stopping the start of new smokers – for good

The UK is leading the way in creating a smokefree generation. New legislation, one of the most significant public health measures in a generation, will make it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. That means children turning 15 this year and younger can never legally be sold cigarettes. 

If you’re a smoker, you too can be a part of this clean air future: alongside the  tough new laws, additional funding will be made available to support current smokers to quit, doubling the funding of local ‘stop smoking services’ to nearly £140 million.

These measures will help to phase out tobacco over time and prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking, with 83% of smokers starting before the age of 20.

The dawn of a smokefree generation comes with benefits for everybody, saving thousands of lives and billions of pounds for the NHS, the economy and wider society, and levelling up the UK by tackling one of the most preventable drivers of inequality in health outcomes.

The bill is not about criminalising those who smoke – anyone who can legally be sold tobacco today will continue to be in the future – rather it is about protecting future generations.

The case against tobacco is stark. It is the single biggest preventable cause of ill health, disability and death in the UK, responsible for 80,000 deaths each year. It causes one in four cancer deaths, is responsible for just over 70% of all lung cancer cases, and is the trigger for nine out of ten cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Smoking also substantially increases the risk of many major health conditions throughout people’s lives, including strokes, diabetes, heart disease, stillbirth, dementia and asthma. Smoking increases the chance of stillbirth by almost half and makes children twice as likely to be hospitalised for asthma from second-hand smoking. 

To put these figures into perspective, up to two thirds of smokers will die from their addiction. They can expect to see their lives cut short by a decade – one year for every four years of smoking. Smokers also need care 10 years earlier than they otherwise would – often while still of working age.

With the typical smoker spending £2,400 a year on a  that will probably kill them, it is little wonder that three quarters of them wish they had never smoked.

It’s also bad for the country as a whole, with smoking costing the country £17 billion a year, and 1 in 4 hospital beds being occupied by a smoker. By comparison, the UK recoups just £10 billion in income from taxes on tobacco products. 

As Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, says: “Smoking is based on addiction and most people wish they had never taken it up. They try to stop and they cannot. Their choice has been taken away. As a doctor I have seen many people in hospital desperate to stop smoking but they cannot.”

There is sometimes a perception that smoking is already on the wane for younger generations, and while this is broadly true there is still a need for vigilance to achieve a smokefree generation. In teens aged between 16-17, there is still a smoking rate of more than 14%, while those who start smoking under the age of 18 have higher levels of nicotine dependence compared to those starting over 21, and are less likely to successfully quit. 

Some countries are also seeing an increase in smoking rates, with the US seeing the first increase in tobacco sales in 20 years in 2020, and Australia seeing the proportion of teenagers smoking increase for the first time in 25 years in 2022.  

There has never been a better time to embrace our new smokefree future. If you or a loved one is thinking of quitting visit nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking.

Quit Smoking

When you stop smoking, good things start to happen – you can begin to see almost immediate improvements to your health.

It’s much easier to stop smoking when you get the right support and there are lots of options to choose from.

Check out some free tools, tips and support to help you stay on track.

Vaping

Due to nicotine content and the unknown long-term harms, the health advice is clear: young people and those who have never smoked should not vape. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will crack down on youth vaping by reducing the appeal and availability of vapes to children. 

Encouraging children to use a product designed for adults to quit smoking and then addicting them is not acceptable yet the number of children using vapes has tripled over past three years and a staggering 20.5% of children aged 11 to17 had tried vaping in March to April 2023.  

Vapes will remain one of the tools available for use by adults to help them quit smoking. They are substantially less harmful than cigarettes, although the long-term effects remain unknown.

Anyone who smokes should keep trying to stop

We speak to some of the former smokers helping to make the smokefree generation a reality

Tim Eves, 45, West Sussex

I was a smoker for around 12 years. I took it up in my early 30s, just after my eldest was born. A lot of people at work smoked. We used to go out most Fridays after work for a beer – I began to have one occasionally when I went out. One night I had a couple and, for some reason, the next day bought a pack. That was that.

I’d played football up until my late 20s and was reasonably fit but soon I was out of shape. Even things like going up and down the stairs at work left me out of breath. It was beginning to affect me financially, too. The main factor  in deciding to quit was looking at the long term health implications. Having another child and being a relatively old dad by that point, I realised I wanted to be around for as long as possible for the wife and kids.

I tried listening to an audiobook designed to help you stop smoking and went and bought a pack of cigarettes the next day, so that was no good. I tried vaping. In the end I went to a health clinic and they gave me nicotine patches, and nicotine gum, and every week I would check in with them.

It was hard, really hard. For the first few months, you have it in your head that you’d love to have just one. You wake up in the morning and automatically still want one. It’s been just under eight months now and I think it took probably four maybe five to crack it.

My youngest, Wilbur, has got a nerve tumour condition called neurofibromatosis. I wanted to do a 10K fundraiser for him, which I’d never have been able to do when I was smoking. So that was a goal. In October I did the Guildford 10K. There was no way I could have done that before. It’s not often I feel proud of myself but I thought, ‘This is a big thing in my life’. Every day I feel healthier as a result and I have a few more quid in the bank.

I think the new legislation is a fantastic idea. Everybody knows how harmful smoking is but it’s still everywhere. So to try to get rid of it completely is bold. And for my kids generation, never to have the option to smoke would be great.

Keith Foster, 81, Surrey

I was 16 years old when I first tried smoking, and I hated it. A year later, my brother started smoking, and I thought I’d give it a go again – it quickly escalated and became a 60-a-day addiction.

Keith Foster

I was 16 years old when I first tried smoking, and I hated it.

My friend was smoking, and I thought I’d have a go. I bought a packet; I had one and hated it. I threw them away.

A year later, my brother started smoking, and I thought I’d give it a go again – it quickly escalated and became a 60-a-day addiction. When they first started to put the ‘smoking can damage your health’ warnings on the side of the packets, I thought ‘if that’s the case, I don’t want to smoke’.

I made the decision to quit. I’m quite strong-willed, and once I make my mind up about something, there’s no going back. And I never smoked cigarettes again.

When I was smoking, I used to wheeze, but within a week of giving up, I could breathe clearly again. It made all the difference. I enjoy gardening and don’t get out of breath as much as I did back then, and I’m 81 now.

If I had known about the health warnings, I would not have taken up smoking. My advice to anyone is don’t start smoking. Leave it alone. You might be young now, but as you get older, it gradually gets hold of you.

Dalia Botanique, 41, Wakefield

About ten years ago I became really aware of how it was impacting my health as I was always getting coughs and I knew my parents were worried about me.

I’d smoked about ten rollups a day since I was 18, starting because other people my age were doing it. It was very socially acceptable then, so any time I tried to stop it was too easy to pick it up again. About ten years ago I became really aware of how it was impacting my health as I was always getting coughs and I knew my parents were worried about me.

I was about to start working as a sports massage therapist and was concerned that my clients would smell smoke on me, and I was also becoming really interested in working in skincare. Smoking does dreadful things to your skin, as I could tell by the yellow tinges on my fingertips. No-one would take advice on skincare from someone who’s actively damaging their skin by smoking.

Just before I stopped smoking I went out for my first ever run with a friend and I really enjoyed it but it was a slow start. You need your lungs and a good heart to run and I wasn’t doing mine any good by smoking. My skin, especially my hands, soon looked far healthier and I also got more and more into running and cycling.

Being strong and fit is so important to me now. I don’t think it’s ever easy to give up smoking and everyone finds their own way of doing it, even if you have to try a few times before getting there. I would encourage anyone who smokes to keep trying to stop.