Raise age for sale of cigarettes to 21 and stop ‘tobacco epidemic’, say MPs

Move could help end smoking in England by 2030, campaigners say

Smoking accounts for 35 per cent of all respiratory deaths in England (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

MPs have called for a consultation on increasing the age of sale of cigarettes, arguing that changing it to 21 could help end smoking by 2030.

The cross-party group of MPs and peers who make up the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health recommend the smoking age should be raised alongside a number of other measures to stop children and young people from taking up the habit.

The APPG also called for cigarette manufacturers to be forced to fund a tobacco control programme via a “polluter pays” amendment to the the Health and Social Care Bill.

The group’s report, which is backed by health charities and medical organisations, urged the government to commit to taking action to make smoking obsolete by the end of the decade.

The report suggests there is widespread support to end smoking by 2030, including 63 per cent backing raising the age of sale to 21. More than three-quarters (77 per cent) support a levy on manufacturers to pay for programmes to help smokers quit.

Smoking is likely to have killed more people last year and this year than Covid-19, the report noted.

In 2019, the government outlined its ambition for England to become smokefree by 2030, although it conceded that this goal will be “extremely challenging” to meet, particularly in deprived areas and among people living with mental health conditions.

Some campaigners have criticised the government for a lack of concrete action to achieve the target.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: “We all applauded when the government announced its ambition for a Smokefree 2030. But that was two years ago, the time has now come to deliver.

“Currently smoking rates are not declining nearly fast enough. If, as called for by the APPG, the recommendations in its report are implemented by 2022 we can get on track to make smoking obsolete by 2030.”

APPG chairman Bob Blackman called for tobacco manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking.

He said: ”Our report sets out measures which will put us on track to achieve the government’s ambition to end smoking by 2030, but they can’t be delivered without funding.

“Tobacco manufacturers make extreme profits selling highly addictive, lethal products, while government coffers are bare because of Covid-19. The manufacturers have the money, they should be made to pay to end the epidemic.”

Alison Cook, director of external affairs at Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, said:

“If the government is serious about reaching its own target of becoming smokefree by 2030, it needs to do much more by urgently providing sustainable funding for the delivery of stop smoking services across the NHS and in the community, as a broad offer is highly effective in supporting people to quit.

“Without action now, we will continue to see thousands of people die every year as a result of preventable lung diseases linked to smoking.”

Two-thirds of those who try smoking become daily smokers, according to Smokefree Action.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are making huge progress, but we know there is further to go. We are determined to address the damaging health implications of smoking and we are backing this commitment up with substantial investment.

“A new tobacco control plan for England will be published later this year, setting out further measures to ensure we meet our 2030 target by reducing youth take up and reaching high prevalence groups such as people with mental health conditions.”