Sunak announces crackdown on smoking

The legal age for buying tobacco should rise every year, the Prime Minister has said as he announced new proposals to crack down on smoking. Rishi Sunak said more must be done to ‘try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place’. He told the Conservative party conference in Manchester that ‘a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette,’ under new legislation. ‘If we are to do the right thing for our kids, we must try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place,’ he said. ‘Because without a significant change thousands of children will start smoking in the coming years and have their lives cut short as a result.’ He added: ‘I propose that in future we raise the smoking age by one year every year. ‘That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke free.’