The new rule would essentially raise the smoking age by one year every year until it applies to the whole population, making it illegal to sell tobacco products to anybody born on or after january 1, 2009. As early as 2040, this might lead to an almost complete phase-out of smoking among young people.
No parent ever wants their child to start smoking, according to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak. It is a terrible habit that kills tens of thousands of people every year, costs our NHS billions, and has a significant negative impact on our nation's productivity. "I want to eradicate smoking for good because I want to create a better and brighter future for our children. These modifications will make it impossible for our children to purchase cigarettes, preventing them from developing a habit and safeguarding their health both now and in the future, the politician stated.
Smoking causes around 1 in 4 cancer deaths and accounts for 64,000 deaths annually in England, making it the top avoidable cause of death in the UK. Smoking-related sickness accounts for roughly one hospital admission every minute and up to 75,000 GP consultations each month, placing a tremendous burden on the NHS.
It is also one of the main causes of health disparities in the nation. According to the UK government website, smoking rates among pregnant women vary greatly, with as many as 20% of them smoking in some regions of the nation, which raises the risk of stillbirth by about 50%.
Additionally, smoking costs the economy 17 billion pounds a year in lost wages, unemployment, early deaths, and expenditures to the NHS. These modifications represent one of the most important government interventions in the field of public health in the last generation. If the government does nothing, according to the independent analysis issued in 2022, there would be close to 500,000 smoking-related deaths by 2030.
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