THURSDAY, April 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The U.K. is taking steps to ensure young people can never legally buy cigarettes.

Lawmakers approved a bill this week that will raise the legal age to purchase tobacco, The Associated Press reported.

Under the plan, anyone born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be permanently banned from buying cigarettes.

“The end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain — it’s inevitable,” Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, told The Associated Press.

King Charles III will still need to approve the move. His signature is considered a formality.

The law builds on existing rules that ban tobacco sales to anyone under 18. But instead of a fixed age limit, the new policy increases the minimum age each year, which means younger generations will never legally gain access to buy them.

“Children in the U.K. will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting told The Associated Press.

The bill also gives the government more power to regulate tobacco and nicotine products, including rules about flavors, packaging and vape products.

Smoking rates in Britain have fallen significantly over the past several decades, dropping by about two-thirds since the 1970s.

Even so, about 6.4 million people still smoke, according to official data.

Health officials say smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in Britain, responsible for about 80,000 deaths each year.

More information

Frederick Health has more on the dangers of smoking at a young age.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, April 22, 2026