Despite opposition from many within his own Conservative Party, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s planned legislation to ban youth smoking will be the subject of the first debate in the UK parliament on Tuesday.
The bill would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone who was born after January 1, 2009; in other words, it would raise the legal smoking age annually until it is applicable to the entire population.
“This has the potential to phase out smoking in young people almost completely as early as 2040,” the government said when it unveiled the plan, calling the move “historic”.
Even though opposition parties appear to be supporting the bill, Sunak still has to worry about potential rebellion from backbench Tory MPs.
The embattled leader, trying to turn around his party after months of dismal polling, has little political capital to work with within his split coalition.
Simon Clarke, a Conservative MP, stated on BBC radio that he was “both sceptical and downright opposed” to the proposals.
“I think that an outright ban risks being counterproductive, I think it risks making smoking cooler, it certainly risks creating a black market, and it also risks creating an unmanageable challenge for the authorities,” he said.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson also said at an event in Canada last week it was “mad” that the party of Winston Churchill was “banning cigars”.
However, opinion polls show that around two-thirds of people in the UK backed a phased smoking ban.
Read More
Delhi Police Reunites Abandoned Two-Month-Old with Family
