The proposed smoking ban is controversial (Picture: Getty)
Today MPs will debate a controversial new bill that, if passed, would ban the sale of tobacco to younger generations.
The proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill would slowly raise the legal age to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products.
It would mean that no one currently aged 14 or under (known as Generation Alpha) will ever be able to legally buy tobacco products in the UK.
While the proposed bill won’t criminalise buying tobacco, shops selling cigarettes or vapes to children would be fined on the spot.
Labour is backing the bill, but several Conservative MPs have criticised the plans.
Conservative MP Sir Simon Clarke has said Rishi Sunak’s plans to stop young people from ever smoking risks ‘making smoking cooler’ and ‘creating a black market’.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he is ‘both sceptical and downright opposed’ to the plans.
If passed, it would be one of the strictest laws against smoking in the world. So, how does the UK compare to other countries?
The harshest anti-smoking laws in the world
No country has outright banned smoking, but Bhutan has come pretty close.
The tiny Himalayan country outlawed smoking in all public places in 2005, and five years later it banned the sale and production of tobacco in the country. Anyone selling tobacco faced three to five years in prison.
According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco kills more than 8 million people every year (Picture: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
However, in 2020, Bhutan lifted the ban in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country wanted to keep its borders closed to protect people from coronavirus.
However, black market tobacco smugglers from India, where Covid-19 cases were high, tried to get into the country.
So, the tobacco ban was lifted to try to stop cross-border smuggling and limit the spread of the virus. However, the country still has laws in place to stop smoking in public places.
Mexico, where around 16% of the adult population smoke, also has some of the world’s strictest tobacco laws.
There’s a ban on smoking in all public spaces, including parks and beaches.
In Mexico, smoking is banned on beaches (Picture: Getty Images)
It’s also banned at hotels, which means that the only place to legally smoke in Mexico is in private homes.
People caught lighting up – including tourists – could face fines of up to $300, which is around £241.
The country also has a complete ban on the promotion, advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products.
New Zealand’s smoking rollback
New Zealand would have joined Bhutan and Mexico as one of the world’s toughest smoking bans.
In 2022, the country announced plans to raise the smoking age year on year so that any born after January 2009 wouldn’t ever be able to buy cigarettes legally.
New Zealand repealed its smoking ban (Picture: Getty Images)
The proposed rules also set out banning the sale of cigarettes in supermarkets and creating special tobacco stores instead and lowering the legal amount of nicotine in tobacco products.
The new laws were due to come into effect in July this year.
However, when a new government came into power last year, New Zealand scrapped the ban.
The new Prime Minister Chris Luxon had previously been critical of the plans and had said that a ban would lead to a black market for tobacco.
The government said it would use the sale of cigarettes to fund tax cuts.
What about elsewhere?
More than 70 countries have anti-smoking laws.
In 2004, Ireland became the first country to ban smoking in workplaces.
Other countries, such as Spain, Greece and Hungary, soon followed.
The Portuguese government said that it wants to create a ‘smoke-free generation’ by 2040.
It plans to introduce laws to restrict the sale of tobacco products to licensed specialist shops and airport shops.
France banned smoking on beaches, outside schools and in forests and green areas.
What about vapes?
Some countries have also banned e-cigarettes.
In December, the French parliament voted to plan single-use e-cigarettes.
Disposable vapes are being banned in England, Scotland and Wales (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Meanwhile, in Australia, it’s illegal to import disposable vapes and e-cigarettes with nicotine in them will only be available to purchase with a prescription.
Mexico, Brazil and Argentina have gone even further. Along with 34 other countries, they have a complete ban on the sale of e-cigarettes.
In Thailand, those caught using an e-cigarette could face a fine or up to 10 years in prison.
What are the rules in the UK and what could change?
In 2007, the UK banned smoking in pubs, restaurants, nightclubs, workplaces and work vehicles.
The proposed new law would not impact the 6.4 million adults in the UK who smoke today, but those born after 2009.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Conservative Party conference last year: ‘If we are to do the right thing for our kids, we must try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place.’