Parliament has now begun the process of consigning smoking to the ash heap of history,
We do expect over time, smoking to die out almost completely,
The passage of the bill should be expedited to ensure it is on the statute book before the general election. The public, who overwhelmingly support the legislation, expect nothing less,
Retailers will look to ensure they comply with the new regulations in a timely manner."
It is important that the legislation operates in the same way across the UK as this will help ensure clarity and consistency for customers."
Placing the responsibility of verifying customers' ages squarely on shopkeepers could potentially lead to several challenges. In addition to concerns about retail crime and the potential for increased abuse from customers who are reluctant to be ID'd, this policy may inadvertently contribute to a rise in shoplifting cases."
We are committed to working with the Government and our members on ensuring that communication about the new rules is widespread and clear when measures are introduced in 2027, as confusion about the rules among customers is one of the areas that can cause flashpoints in store and this is a scenario that we want to minimise as much as possible."
Retailers take their obligations around vapes and cigarettes very seriously and will continue to comply with any requirements around their sale."
Enforcing a generational ban on tobacco products will require additional training for retailers and their colleagues on new age-related sales procedures that in time will be significantly different from those on other products where 'Challenge 25' is an effective and robust policy."
We should not treat legally competent adults differently in this way, where people born a day apart will have permanently different rights,
This has the potential to phase out smoking in young people almost completely as early as 2040,
Nicotine robs people of their freedom to choose. The vast majority of smokers start when they are young, and three quarters say that if they could turn back the clock they would not have started,
If he [Mr Paisley] or his colleagues in Belfast have concerns that there may be ways in which it could somehow be circumnavigated, we will listen carefully, but I should be clear that our intention is that the bill applies to all children and young people across the UK."
I have raised a number of concerns about the fact that because we have a land border with the European Union, the EU will insist, under the Windsor Framework, that it can block the implementation of the bill in Northern Ireland,
If parliament passes this new bill, it will put the UK at the very forefront of the fight to eradicate one of the most harmful inventions of modern times,
A great majority of smokers wish they had never started, but now they’re in trouble.”
Smoking kills and causes harm at all stages of life from stillbirths, asthma in children, stroke, cancer to heart attacks and dementia
There are some things, of course, which are not necessarily philosophically or practically right which would command support in the opinion polls
There are good ways to tackle a problem like this and then there are bad ways, and I think that an outright ban risks being counterproductive, I think it actually risks making smoking cooler, it certainly risks creating a black market, and it also risks creating a unmanageable challenge for the authorities