UK PM Rishi Sunak's smoking ban clears first hurdle. What it entails and who will be affected

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's proposal to place a ban on smoking cleared its first parliamentary hurdle even though it faced opposition from within his cabinet, while Labour backed the bill.

Sunak proposed to increase the legal age for buying cigarettes annually so that the habit could be eventually phased out, along with imposing restrictions on the saleof vaping products.

If the proposals are passed, it will make selling tobacco products illegal to anyoneborn after January 1, 2009, as the prime minister dreams of creating a "smoke-free" generation.

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During the voting, 165 Conservatives either abstained or voted against the proposal and 180 Tories gave votes in its support.

What does Sunak's proposed smoking ban involve?

As per the government's plans, the legal age for the purchase of cigarettes will annually increase from the age of 18 and will go beyond the pension age so as to make smoking obsolete.

However, the government doesn't aim to criminalise smoking which means that anybody who can legally purchase cigarettes won't be stopped from buying it in the future.

Till 2043, only those who are aged 35 or above will be able to purchase cigarettes legally and shopkeepers will be able to seek the ID of those seeking to purchase tobacco.

The legislation also includes new restrictions on flavours and a ban on disposable vapes, with only four flavours of vape set to be allowed.

What did UK PM Sunak say about the ban?

Sunak announced the plans at the Conservative Party Conference in October, and informed the delegates that it would mean that “a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they, and their generation, can grow up smoke-free”.

“We have a chance to cut cancer deaths by a quarter, significantly ease those pressures and protect our children, and we should take it. This is not a values judgment on people who smoke," the UK prime minister said.

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“I don’t believe it would be fair to take away the rights of anyone to smoke who currently does so, and the vote on this in Parliament will be a free vote, as the bar on smoking in public places was and raising the smoking age to 18 was," he added.

Are the proposals being supported by Conservative MPs?

Tory's Kemi Badenoch voted against the bill stating that the government should not treat legally competent adults differently.

“I do not support the approach this bill is taking and so will be voting against it,” she said.

United Kingdom's former prime minister Liz Truss also voted against the bill. “I think the whole idea that we can protect adults from themselves is hugely problematic and it effectively infantilises people,” Truss said.

“People want to make their own decisions about what they eat and what they drink and how they enjoy themselves," she added.

Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman also voted against the bill, while Priti Patel and Penny Mordaunt abstained.

(With inputs from agencies)