The legal age to buy cigarettes could be raised from 18 to 21

First they banned menthols, now this


The legal age to buy cigarettes could be raised from 18 to 21, a recommendation has said.

The recommendation, made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, could see sales of cigs to under-21s banned by 2030 – meaning you wouldn’t be able to get cigs until third year, unless you end up with a random postgrad in your halls.

The group said it’s likely more people were killed from smoking than Covid last year, Metro reports.

The government has said it’s committed to a “smoke-free society” by 2030 – which they define as less than five per cent of adults smoking.

Now, the All Party Parliamentary Group made up of MPs and peers has said the government needs to act more strongly in order to achieve this.

Last week, it was reported Oxfordshire plans to be smoke-free by 2025 and may ban smoking in outdoor dining areas and beer gardens.

There have also been similar bans in Newcastle, Manchester, Durham, Northumberland and North Tyneside.

And it’s only been a year since menthol cigarettes were banned and smoking areas across the country changed forever.

About the recent recommendation, the All Party Parliamentary Group’s chairman Bob Blackman 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.”

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