Generations of progress
Since the 1950s, when UK scientists first proved that smoking causes lung cancer, we’ve been pushing to protect people from the harms of tobacco.
The evidence of that work is all around. When Cancer Research UK’s two predecessor charities merged in 2002, the UK had smoke-filled pubs and workplaces, billboards emblazoned with tobacco ads, and branded cigarette packs lurking behind shop counters.
All those things are history, and the proportion of adults in Britain who smoke has fallen from more than 4 in 10 in the 1970s to around 1 in 10 today. Even so, tobacco still kills one person in the UK every seven minutes. It’s the one legal consumer product that, when used exactly as recommended by the manufacturer, will end the lives of most of its users. It shouldn’t have any place in our children’s future.
That’s why we called for the Government to raise the age of sale of tobacco in our Smokefree UK campaign and our Longer, better lives manifesto. More than 7 in 10 people in the UK support this, according to our recent polling.
The law to create a smokefree generation has now passed with similarly strong support in Parliament, making the UK the first large country to start phasing out the legal sale of tobacco.
“Today’s milestone is the result of decades of research, overwhelming support in Parliament, tireless campaigning and backing from people whose lives have been devastated by smoking,” said Mitchell. “Governments across the UK must now ensure the Act is implemented fully in every nation, alongside support to help people quit smoking. A future free from the lethal harms of tobacco is firmly within reach.”
As well as saving lives and helping to ease pressure on hospitals, raising the age of sale of tobacco should have huge economic benefits. Action on Smoking and Health estimates that, in England alone, tobacco costs society £44 billion each year, many times more than the Government raises through taxing tobacco sales across the entire UK.
