Policy News

Last month, the U.K. Parliament passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that will permanently ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. The bill, which goes into effect January 1, 2027, does not ban smoking itself, nor does it criminalize possession. The intervention is at the point of sale: retailers must verify birth dates.

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Over 20 years ago, Scotland became the first UK nation to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke has fallen by 96% since the legislation was implemented on March 26, 2006. A new study, published in the journal Tobacco-Induced Diseases, reveals that nearly one in four people are still being exposed to tobacco smoke in settings the law does not fully cover. This raises the question of what it will take to finish what the ban started.

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More than 6 million vapes and vape pods are still being discarded every week in the UK, despite the ban on disposable e-cigarettes almost a year ago. Since 2025, there has been a 23% reduction in the number of vapes improperly discarded. However, waste management and spontaneous fires from lithium batteries remain a problem despite the ban on sales. Fires have caused localized spikes in air pollution, posing health risks to nearby communities.