Local MP for Basingstoke Maria Miller has backed the Prime Minister’s plan to create a smokefree generation. The Prime Minister has announced that the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will be one of the most significant public health interventions in a generation, saving tens of thousands of lives and saving the NHS billions of pounds.
Maria said, “Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health. Smoking substantially increases the risk of many major health conditions throughout people’s lives, such as strokes, diabetes, heart disease, stillbirth, dementia and asthma.”
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s plan to protect future generations from ever taking up smoking. Creating a smokefree generation will be one of the most significant public health measures in a generation, saving thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS and the economy, and levelling up the UK by tackling one of the most important preventable drivers of inequality in health outcomes.”
“The number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years. A staggering 20.5 per cent of children had tried vaping in 2023 in spite of it being illegal to sell vapes to under 18s. More children now vape than smoke, with disposable vapes play a big part in this trend. I welcome the announcement that the government will be looking at ways of reducing the appeal and availability of vapes to children – while ensuring that vapes remain available for adult smokers to quit.”
Today, the Prime Minister announced that the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products.
Smoking is the UK’s biggest preventable killer – causing around 1 in 4 cancer deaths and leading to 64,000 deaths per year in England. It puts huge pressure on the NHS. Almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital because of smoking, and up to 75,000 GP appointments could be attributed to smoking each month – equivalent to over 100 appointments every hour.
Reducing smoking rates is one of the biggest single health interventions that we can make to level up the UK. Smoking costs the economy £17 billion a year in England through smoking related lost earnings, unemployment, early deaths, and costs to the NHS. If we do not act, the Independent Review, published in 2022, estimated that nearly half a million people will die from smoking by 2030.
Further details, including indicative allocations of funding for stop smoking services by local authority, can be found at: