Age to buy cigarettes in England should rise every year, review says (updated)

JAPAN TOBACCO

09/06/2022 14:40

(Adds UK health minister and company reaction)
    By Farouq Suleiman
    LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - The legal age of sale for
cigarettes in England should be raised by one year every year
until eventually no one can buy tobacco products, a
government-commissioned review said on Thursday.
    Progressively increasing the minimum age from 18 was one of
15 recommendations in a review ordered by health minister Sajid
Javid to help meet a target to be "smokefree" by 2030. Smokefree
is defined as 5% smoking prevalence or less in England.
    Other interventions included the promotion of vapes as a
"swap to stop" tool to help people quit smoking, and a tobacco
licence for retailers to limit availability. 
    The government will now publish its own plan.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2X206X
    Last year, New Zealand announced plans to ban future
generations from ever purchasing cigarettes with people aged 14
and under in 2027 not being allowed to buy cigarettes in the
country in their lifetime.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SU0FN
    Britain, facing the rising cost of a publicly funded
healthcare service, has in recent years sought to intervene on
various public health matters including reducing sugar in
drinks. 
    But some in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party resent such
moves as interfering in individuals' personal choices. The
Conservative government recently delayed a policy to tackle
obesity, calling into question how far it would go on such
measures during a cost of living crisis.
    Government data showed tobacco taxes raised 10.28 billion
pounds ($12.88 billion) for the public purse in 2021/2022.
    
    SMOKEFREE TARGET 
    Javid described smoking as "the single biggest cause of
preventable illness and death" and acknowledged that smoking
rates were not falling fast enough. He said the government would
undertake work looking at vaping as a substitute for smoking.  
    There are an estimated 6 million smokers in England and the
minimum age for the legal purchase of tobacco in England,
Scotland and Wales was last raised in 2007 from 16 to 18 years.
    "Without immediate and sustained action, England will miss
the smokefree target by many years and most likely decades,"
said the head of the review, Javed Khan, a former CEO of
children's charity Barnardo's.
    Jefferies analysts, in a note ahead of the announcement,
said aggressive measures would hit those tobacco companies still
focused on cigarettes, naming Imperial Brands  IMB.L  and Japan
Tobacco  2914.T   
    Those with a growing reliance on vaping, including British
American Tobacco  BATS.L  and Philip Morris  PM.N , could
benefit. 
    Kingsley Wheaton, chief marketing officer at British
American Tobacco, welcomed the focus on vaping but warned that
age increases could have unintended consequences. 
    "The obvious one is that you simply drive purchases into the
black market, and create an illicit trade environment," he said.
    Imperial Brands welcomed the focus on vaping and said it
would contribute to the consultation process. 
($1 = 0.7981 pounds)

 (Reporting by William James and Farouq Suleiman, Additional
reporting from Yadarisa Shabong, editing by Alistair Smout and
Toby Chopra)
 ((william.james@thomsonreuters.com; @wjames_reuters; +44 20
7513 4401;))