Like everything that the government seems to do these days, there was outrage from the wider public in response to the smoking ban, but why? Logically, it seems sensible to prevent anyone from the age of 14 and under smoking in the future, but will it not simply become an illicit market?
The UK has seen that vapes with high nicotine levels are being consistently targeted and sold to young people, and whilst Sunak has announced that they will allocate £70 million for local stop smoking services and support in every local authority in England, undoubtedly in the very near future there will be a huge market for illegal sales of cigarettes and tobacco throughout the UK.
Nevertheless, the principle is certainly a positive one. Dr Sarah Jackson, from UCL, said: “Gradually increasing the age of sale over time will be helpful in discouraging young people from taking up smoking in the first place.” She’s suggesting that by completely preventing it at all from such an early age, that hopefully minors will never become smokers from the outset.
In 2007 when the last Labour government raised the legal smoking age from 16 to 18, it was scientifically proven that this legislation stopped young people getting into smoking, that’s a fact. But is completely banning it a wise choice? When I spoke to students, many seemed to be frustrated.
Evelyn Wilson, 18, an English Literature student from Knebworth said: “You’re opening up a world where adults will buy cigarettes for minors. It’s a classic psychology rule, if you tell someone not to buy it they will.” We have seen similar psychology in the attitude towards e-cigarettes. Minors think it’s cool and trendy to vape in front of their mates, but many don’t understand what they’re doing in the first place. Jonty Cope, 18, an Environmental Science student said: “There’s too many loopholes for the ban to work. In the North, drinking and smoking is a cultural thing, generations pass it on. Removing one of those in the future will affect people’s lifestyle.”
Certainly there’s the argument that it could affect bonds between generations. Smoking is a communal thing, people use it to socialise and engage with others, and removing that chance to develop relationships will strip the culture out of places that perhaps don’t have the opportunity to fine dine or equivalent. Instead, going down to the pub, and having a drink and smoke with friends is their comfort and happiness, and ultimately, their choice.
Some people know and I certainly know people older than me who have smoked all their life and are fine, but usually that’s not the case. You can’t ignore the health detriment that smoking affects the human body, and Sunak offers this argument that it will take stress off the NHS in the future. In 2019/20, the NHS recorded 506,100 hospital admissions attributable to smoking, this is similar to 2018/19 but 10% higher than 2009/10 when it was 461,700. Showing that although it may appear like less people are smoking, the statistics say otherwise. Furthermore, it is in fact, the highest expense for the NHS each year, costing around £2.6 billion. Of course, that figure won’t just disappear with this ban, but it will certainly help.
As a society we can’t reject the idea that smoking is a voluntary way to damage your body, and for the future generations, the eradication of it is surely a positive step. But nevertheless, the cigarette is a staple of English culture and society, and removing that completely will have an impact. Asking a complete stranger, “Can I borrow your lighter mate?”, is almost this form of understanding, a connection and icebreaker between random people. It provides familiarity, comfort in an environment that might seem hostile.
Controversy will always come from the ban, and people will have different stances depending on who you ask about it. Certainly, from a health perspective it’s an intelligent and progressive step, but you can’t ignore that in 30 years when your asked for your ID to buy some fags, it’s going to be a strange feeling.