The bill, imposing some of the strictest anti-smoking rules in the world, passed its first parliamentary stage on Tuesday evening. The idea is to gradually extend the ban on the sale of cigarettes, raising the legal age by one year each year.
Downing Street estimates that this law could make it possible to “almost completely eliminate smoking among young people by 2040.” Children born since 2009 will no longer be able to legally purchase tobacco. Official figures show that four in five smokers started before the age of 20. And most of them remain addicted all their lives. The bill was passed in the House of Commons on Tuesday night by 383 votes in favor and 67 against, and will now move to the next stage where it can be subject to amendments. Some members of the Conservative Party protest against an attack on individual freedom, believing that the state should not interfere in the way people live their lives.