The UK is moving towards an entirely new future - one that will phase out the use of tobacco and consign smoking to the history books.

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With the Tobacco and Vapes Bill set to become law, anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be sold tobacco in their lifetime in the UK. We’re firmly on the path to stubbing out the country’s leading cause of cancer and leaving a legacy for future generations we can be proud of.

As this Bill made its way through Parliament, we heard familiar arguments directly echoing lines from the tobacco industry’s well-worn playbook. Perhaps the most frustrating was the claim that smoking is simply a matter of free choice. In reality, around eight in 10 smokers have tried to quit. This is a statistic that speaks not to choice, but to how hard it is to escape addiction.

This dependency fuels the tobacco industry. Its business model has relied on misleading and manipulative marketing that hooks people in at an early age. Add to this their sinister tactics to disrupt and delay action to tackle smoking. That’s why this legislation isn’t about removing liberties, it’s about protecting the next generation from being drawn in by a uniquely toxic consumer product that strips people of real choice after the first cigarette is........

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