Bill banning people born after 2008 from buying tobacco clears UK parliament
A bill banning anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco in the UK has completed its progress through parliament in a move that ministers hope will create a “smoke-free generation”.Under the tobacco and vapes bill anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to be legally sold tobacco across the UK, in an effort to save lives and reduce the burden on the NHS.The bill will become legislation when it receives royal assent next week.Its long journey through both houses of parliament began when it was introduced on 5 November 2024 and ended on Tuesday, when the House of Lords approved amendments made by MPs in House of Commons.Ministers hope it will end the sale of tobacco products altogether over time and break the cycle of addiction and the disadvantages associated with tobacco.
Smoking leads to 400,000 hospital admissions and 64,000 deaths a year in England alone and costs the NHS £3bn in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.It is estimated to involve total costs to society of between £21.3bn and £27.6bn a year in England, mainly through lost productivity.“This is a historic moment for the nation’s health as the tobacco and vapes bill ends its journey through parliament,” said Wes Streeting, the health secretary.
“Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm.“Prevention is better than cure.This reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain.”The legislation will also give ministers the power to strengthen the existing ban on smoking in public places.It will now be extended to children’s playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals.
“This is a decisive turning point for public health.The end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain – it’s inevitable.And the focus now is on how soon we get there,” said Hazel Cheeseman, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health.“Over the past half-century, smoking has claimed millions of lives across the UK, leaving a legacy of preventable pain and loss.Ending its harm is a lasting gift to generations ahead and families everywhere can now feel secure that their children can grow up free from the harm of tobacco.
”Sarah Sleet, the chief executive of Asthma and Lung UK, said: “This landmark piece of legislation will transform the nation’s health.A smoke-free future means the tobacco industry will no longer be able to wreak havoc on the lungs of the next generation.”The move will also ban vapes and nicotine products from being branded, promoted and advertised to children, so that they do not become addicted to nicotine.However, some vaping firms said the legislation could encourage ex-smokers who now vaped instead to start using tobacco again.“Overly restrictive measures, particularly on flavours and product availability, could unintentionally drive former smokers back to tobacco or into unregulated markets,” said Richard Begg, from VPZ The Vaping Specialist.
Mark Oates, the founder of We Vape, said: “It is vital the government protects vape flavours, which remain the single most effective incentive for adult smokers to make the switch to a less harmful alternative,”
Zoologist, author and presenter Desmond Morris dies aged 98
The zoologist Desmond Morris, perhaps best known for his book The Naked Ape and his work on the ITV programme Zoo Time, has died aged 98.Morris’s son Jason paid tribute to him after his death on Sunday, praising his many professional achievements as well as his role as a father and grandfather.“His was a lifetime of exploration, curiosity and creativity,” Jason said. “A zoologist, manwatcher, author and artist, he was still writing and painting right up until his death. He was a great man and an even better father and grandfather
V&A East Storehouse and Norwich Castle among finalists for museum of the year
The V&A East Storehouse, the National Gallery and an accessible castle in Norwich are among the contenders for this year’s Art Fund museum of the year award, the most prestigious UK prize in the sector.The annual prize offers the winner £120,000, with £20,000 going to each of the other finalists, who the Art Fund’s director, Jenny Waldman, said had all “innovated in different ways”.This year’s list is dominated by some of the biggest names in the cultural sector that have undergone big refurbishments or invested in significant new outposts, such as the V&A’s East Storehouse, which will be seen by many as a frontrunner.Based in the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, the space aims to reimagine what a storeroom can be, with partitions removed so visitors can see “and breathe the same air” as the objects. Waldman said the V&A Storehouse, which opened in spring 2025 at a cost of £65m, had broken the boundaries of what a store could be
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From passionate romantasy novels to premium television dramas, culture is bringing the agency, desires and interior lives of women to the fore. It’s proving good for business, but is this a permanent revolution?Do you voraciously read the pages of steamy romantasy bestsellers by Sarah J Maas or Rebecca Yarros? Or flood your group chat with breathless recaps of the latest goings-on in TV series such as Heated Rivalry or Bridgerton? Or even immerse yourself in the divisive and challenging cinematic worlds of Emerald Fennell? If so, you surely can’t have failed to notice that in pop culture, the female gaze – storytelling that highlights the meandering, textured, sublimely messy inner worlds and wants of women – is enjoying an explosion.On TV, you can see it everywhere, in the interior lives and desires taken up by Big Little Lies, Sirens or Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington’s Little Fires Everywhere. Romantasy harbours it in the shape of powerful maidens and sex in fae (fairy) realms, while Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Promising Young Woman are marketed with the promise of converting women’s experiences into dark beauty on the big screen.A shift, a moment or a commercial juggernaut? That depends how deeply you look
Yann Martel: ‘I hate the rich people of this world – of which I’m one, because of Life of Pi’
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