![Under-25s could be banned from buying cigarettes in UK](https://maltadaily.mt/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/smokewebsite.jpg)
Anyone under the age of 25 could be permanently banned from purchasing cigarettes in the UK in a bid to become a smoke free nation.
Health secretary Sajid Javid commissioned the upcoming report, with Javed Khan OBE set to outline feedback next month, Daily Mail revealed. The former CEO of children’s charity Barnardo’s, Khan is supporting the UK’s plan to be smoke free by 2030.
There are an estimated 6 million smokers in England, with tobacco still being the single largest cause of preventable death. 64,000 people died from smoking n 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Khan considered measures such as the ones implemented in New Zealand, in which anyone born after 2008 won’t be able to buy tobacco products. However, Khan argued in favour of raising the age to 19, 20 or even 25.
He went on to compare the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that social media influencers and similar manoeuvres urged people to get vaccinated in mass.
Tweeting out, Khan said that he wants to hear views and ‘what we can do to support current smokers to quit, and to stop people taking up smoking. How do we stop people, especially children and young people, from starting smoking in the first place?’
Do you think such a measure should be implemented in Malta?
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