Fresh welcomes House of Lords vote to support landmark legislation to phase out the sale of tobacco to the next generation
Fresh has welcomed today’s [Tuesday 24th February] vote in the House of Lords supporting legislation to phase out the sale of tobacco to the next generation, describing it as a historic step towards ending the harm caused by smoking.
The legislation will gradually raise the age of sale for tobacco so that children born after 1st January 2009 will never be legally sold tobacco. Young people who turn 18 next year will be part of this “smokefree generation”.
Polling by YouGov for Action on Smoking and Health shows that 69% of the North East public back the generational ban (12% oppose) and 67% support a vision for a country where no one smokes (12% oppose). [1] By phasing out tobacco sales to the next generation, Parliament is taking a decisive step towards a smokefree UK.
Further polling by YouGov for ASH of the generation who will be impacted by the legislation also finds strong support. Overall, 69% 11-17 year olds back the generational ban including 60% of those who currently smoke and only 18% opposing. [2]
Ailsa Rutter OBE Director of Fresh and Balance, whose own father Stewart died from smoking-caused COPD aged just 61, said: “Most people – whether they smoke or not – want a smokefree future for the next generation, free of the death and the many diseases caused by tobacco.
“Most people who smoke get addicted young, regret it and many spend years trying to stop.
“This is about giving our next generation a life free of a cancer-causing addiction which costs tens of thousands of pounds over a lifetime and ends up killing 2 out of 3. It is part of building stronger, healthier communities and putting money into local people’s pockets, not in the pockets of tobacco companies.”
Mum of three Sue Mountain, 60, from South Shields, started smoking aged 11. She underwent laser treatment aged 48 after a biopsy revealed she had laryngeal cancer in 2012. The cancer then returned in 2015 and then again in 2017, but she is now cancer free.
She has been campaigning for many years for action and is supporting the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which will raise the age of sale by a year every year from January 2027. READ HER FULL BLOG
She said: “As someone who’s had smoking-related cancer three times and started smoking as a child, I know that raising the age of sale will help more children escape the misery of smoking.
“I don’t want my grandchildren to go through what I went through and that view is shared by many people who have smoked, especially in places like the North East, when a lot of families have experienced a tragedy from smoking.
“Our MPs now need to make this happen. It is not about taking away choice. It’s about stopping addiction before it starts and ruining lives.”
Peers voted 78 in favour and 246 against an amendment to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that would have removed the generational ban from the legislation and replaced it with an age of sale increase to 21 – something called for by tobacco companies who oppose the legislation.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is now urging MPs and peers to continue working together to ensure the legislation is implemented effectively and backed by the funding and enforcement needed to make it a success.
The North East has a Declaration for a Smokefree Future to end the death and disease of tobacco, which is supported by local authorities and the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board.
ENDS
References
[1] ASH Smokefree Adult Survey 2025. Online GB survey of adults aged 18+ conducted 10th February to 10th March 2025 by YouGov on behalf of ASH. The figures have been weighted to be representative of all adults in Great Britain.
[2] ASH Smokefree GB youth survey data (age 11-17, sample size 2025=2,746, with 151 who smoke). Full survey covers ages 11-18. Surveys were conducted online using the YouGov panel and are sampled and weighted to be representative all GB youth.
Number of children based on the mid-year population estimates from the ONS (available here).