“Tobacco 21” amendment to the Tobacco and Vapes bill voted down in the House of Lords

In a move that turns the attention of the state against the immediate interest of its own citizens, the House of Lords has rejected and voted down an amendment to the Tobacco and Vapes bill that would raise the legal age limit for purchasing tobacco from 18 years to 21. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is primarily concerned with incrementally and variably raising the legal age limit for purchasing tobacco by one year every year until all citizens simultaneously are excluded from purchasing tobacco in the foreseeable future, and the amendment to this tobacco purchase ban for adults introduced as an alternative was voted down in the House of Lords where the bill entered the report stage by 246 votes to 78. The report stage of the bill will resume on the 3rd and on the 5th of March.

However, the tobacco purchase ban does not represent the wishes of the majority of the UK population and the chairman of the smokers’ rights association FOREST Simon Clark sent an open letter to members of the House of Lords raising its members’ concerns about the tobacco purchase ban contained in the bill and addressing the issue. In his letter, Simon Clark wrote that ;

Although we are opposed in principle to raising the age of sale of tobacco above 18, we recognise the political reality of the current situation. We therefore ask you to support amendments that seek to remove the generational ban by raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 instead. That, we believe, is a sensible alternative that would achieve most of the government’s aims whilst providing clarity for businesses and consumers in the years ahead.

Worldwide, only the UK government currently has plans to introduce legislation that will eventually outlaw the sale of tobacco to adults of all ages. In contrast, Ireland is due to raise the minimum age of sale of tobacco to 21 from 2028. The Netherlands is reported to be considering a similar policy, and we anticipate that other European nations will follow suit over the next decade.

It surely makes sense to align the UK with our closest neighbours rather than risk a significant loss of revenue as a result of illicit trade, not to mention UK consumers choosing to purchase tobacco from legitimate retailers abroad.

59% of the population agree that you should be allowed to purchase tobacco when you are over 18 years of age, 29% support the provisions of the tobacco purchase ban contained in the Tobacco and Vapes bill and 12% were undecided according to a recent poll conducted on behalf of FOREST. In another poll conducted on behalf of FOREST, 35% agreed with the tobacco purchase ban for adults, 33% agreed with raising the legal age limit from 18 to 21 years and 25% agreed with the age limit to remain at 18 years old.