Parliament has passed the Tobacco and Vapes Act, starting the process of phasing out the legal sale of tobacco in the UK.

On 1 January 2027, this world-leading legislation will raise the age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 19. It will then continue to raise the age of sale by one year every year, making it illegal to ever sell tobacco in the UK to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

As a result, around 13 million children alive today will grow up as part of the UK’s first smokefree generation, with a powerful law to help protect them against the deadly addiction that causes more preventable cancers and cancer deaths than anything else.

Government modelling suggests that by 2040, this should mean that up to 10 million fewer cigarettes – enough to stretch from London to Glasgow – are smoked in the UK each day. And that’s just the beginning.

“This is a truly historic achievement that will help to save countless lives,” said Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive.

Tobacco causes around 160 cases of cancer every day in the UK. Over the past 10 years, it has also been responsible for more than 800,000 people dying across the country.

“With this new law in place, we are moving towards a future where children will grow up shielded from the lifelong harms of tobacco,” said Mitchell. “It will mean more people living a life free from the grip of deadly addiction, fewer people facing a cancer diagnosis and less pressure on an already overstretched health service.”

Generations of progress

Since the 1950s, when UK scientists first proved that smoking causes lung cancer, we’ve been pushing to protect people from the harms of tobacco.

The evidence of that work is all around. When Cancer Research UK’s two predecessor charities merged in 2002, the UK had smoke-filled pubs and workplaces, billboards emblazoned with tobacco ads, and branded cigarette packs lurking behind shop counters.

All those things are history, and the proportion of adults in Britain who smoke has fallen from more than 4 in 10 in the 1970s to around 1 in 10 today. Even so, tobacco still kills one person in the UK every seven minutes. It’s the one legal consumer product that, when used exactly as recommended by the manufacturer, will end the lives of most of its users. It shouldn’t have any place in our children’s future.

That’s why we called for the Government to raise the age of sale of tobacco in our Smokefree UK campaign and our Longer, better lives manifesto. More than 7 in 10 people in the UK support this, according to our recent polling.

The law to create a smokefree generation has now passed with similarly strong support in Parliament, making the UK the first large country to start phasing out the legal sale of tobacco.

“Today’s milestone is the result of decades of research, overwhelming support in Parliament, tireless campaigning and backing from people whose lives have been devastated by smoking,” said Mitchell. “Governments across the UK must now ensure the Act is implemented fully in every nation, alongside support to help people quit smoking. A future free from the lethal harms of tobacco is firmly within reach.”

As well as saving lives and helping to ease pressure on hospitals, raising the age of sale of tobacco should have huge economic benefits. Action on Smoking and Health estimates that, in England alone, tobacco costs society £44 billion each year, many times more than the Government raises through taxing tobacco sales across the entire UK.

Bridget’s story

The importance of raising the age of sale of tobacco comes from the fact that most people who smoke start young.

Bridget first picked up a cigarette as a teenager in the 1960s. She tried everything to quit, but stopping took more than 50 years.

“In the 60s, it was very fashionable to have a cigarette,” said Bridget. “All my family smoked. I nursed my mum through lung cancer, which was awful, but I still carried on smoking.”

Bridget’s mum, Margaret, had also been smoking since she was a teenager. She died of lung cancer when she was just 61, before she had the chance to watch her grandchildren grow up.

In 2017, Bridget was also diagnosed with lung cancer.

“I was so scared, I thought I was going to be dead and buried within weeks,” she said.

Thanks to advances in cancer treatment, doctors were able to shrink Bridget’s tumour using chemotherapy and immunotherapy. And, finally, Bridget was able to stop smoking.

Since then, Bridget has also helped us campaign to raise the age of sale of tobacco and create a Smokefree UK.

“I’m so relieved none of my children or grandchildren smoke,” she said. “But we need to do everything we can to protect the next generation.”

Stats from England and Wales show that around 9 in 10 people who smoke started before they turned 21. We’re a long way from the 1960s, but, even today, around 2,600 18 to 25-year-olds in the UK light their first cigarette each week.

The impact of raising the age of sale will be gradual, but protecting people from these early addictions could change their entire lives.

Helping people stop for good

The Tobacco and Vapes Act will raise the age of sale of all products that contain tobacco, including cigarettes, cigars, shisha and heated tobacco, as well as herbal smoking products and smoking accessories like cigarette papers.

The Act does not criminalise smoking or using tobacco, and it won’t affect anyone currently able to legally buy tobacco products.

More than five million people in the UK still smoke, and many of them want to quit. In fact, 8 in 10 people who smoke in England have already tried. It’s vital to make sure they have access to the support they need to help them stop for good.

That’s why our efforts to reduce the harms of tobacco don’t stop here. Nothing would do more to prevent cancer, reduce the number of cancer deaths, and tackle health inequalities than ending smoking. We’ll continue to work with governments across all UK nations to ensure the Act is implemented in full, and that every person who smokes today has the tools they need to quit.

You can find out more about the Tobacco and Vapes Act in our explainer article, which answers some of the most common questions.