The UK is about to start an experiment that could end smoking for good – but it won’t be easy

By Lisa McNally, Honorary Professor and Director of Public Health, University of Birmingham

Anyone born after January 1 2009 will never be able to legally buy tobacco in the UK thanks to the tobacco and vapes bill, which is expected to become law in March 2026. When it does, it will mean that the legal age for tobacco sales will rise by one year every year from 2027 onwards.

I have spent much of my career working on smoking cessation and prevention, including supporting the roll out of England’s indoor smoking ban and leading local health improvement programmes. In 2006, a man once called…

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