Although there has been a lot of talk lately about the dangers posed by rising levels of obesity, tobacco remains the greatest public health threat the world has ever faced.
Although the risks have been known for decades, 1.3 billion people worldwide still use tobacco. They kill 8 million people each year and more than one million of them die from secondhand smoke.
In an effort to finally eliminate its use and eradicate the damage associated with it, many Western countries have announced bold tobacco policies in order to get out of tobacco smoke before the end of this decade. Some go further and faster than others.
New Zealand is one of the leaders in the race, after announcing that it will ban smoking for the next generation, so that those aged 14 and under today will never be able to legally buy tobacco.
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The law means that the legal age for smoking will increase each year to create a smoke-free generation of New Zealanders. Other measures aimed at achieving the goal of making the country smoke-free by 2025 include: reducing the legal amount of nicotine in tobacco products to very low levels; reducing the number of shops where cigarettes can be legally sold; and increasing funding for addictive services.
In England, health professionals are considering radical ways to reduce the number of smokers by approximately 6 million. An independent review commissioned by Health Minister Sajid Javid and led by Javed Khan, former CEO of Barnardo’s children’s charity, will be published on Thursday.
The Guardian understands that the recommendations could include raising the legal age for smoking to 21 and introducing additional taxes on tobacco companies. The review is likely to recommend that the NHS step up its efforts to encourage smokers, especially pregnant women, to switch to vaping and e-cigarettes.
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The minimum age for tobacco purchase was last raised from 16 to 18 in England, Scotland and Wales in 2007. Smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces was outlawed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the same year. Scotland passed legislation in 2006.
Khan’s review of smoking was commissioned to provide independent, evidence-based advice to the government to help reduce smoking inequalities. Khan was also tasked with identifying the “most effective interventions” to reduce smoking penetration and support people who quit. The government announced in 2019 its ambition to go smoke-free in England by 2030.
Some sources suggest that the review, commissioned in February, is a “political cover-up” for Javid to prevent Downing Street from abandoning the 2030 target, amid fears that conservatives could be blamed for attempt to introduce a “nanny state”.
David Canzini, the influential deputy chief of staff at No. 10, advised Boris Johnson to repeal as many policies as possible that may be unpopular with Tory MPs or traditional Conservative voters. Conservatives will also try not to lose the position created by voters on the red wall, something they may fear will be put at risk if they are suddenly forced into a strict smoking policy.
Javid, who quit smoking after becoming health minister last year, is believed to support significant changes in government tobacco policy. He is said to have looked at policies in the United States, where the legal age is 21, as well as countries such as New Zealand, and has considered tightening sales rules.
But there is skepticism among other cabinet members and Johnson about raising the legal age or introducing new taxes.
Cancer Research has previously warned that Britain is expected to miss its goal of smoking-free smoke by 2030 because so many poorer people still use cigarettes. Whether Britain can achieve the goal or not will depend not on the size or form of the policies recommended on Thursday, but on whether the government is ready to implement them.
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