A Tobacco-Free Generation Is Coming-Someday

"Back in 1604, King James I was so alarmed about his country's new smoking habit that he imposed a 4,000 percent tariff on the crop. That year, he wrote one of the world's first anti-tobacco essays, declaring smoking "lothsome to the eye, hatefull to the Nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the Lungs.""

"Now advocates are hoping a new law that prohibits anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, from ever buying cigarettes will finally end the habit for good. But the tobacco-free generation, at least in the short term, is unlikely to truly be tobacco free. Currently, U.K. residents need to be 18 or older to purchase cigarettes."

"Generational tobacco bans were first proposed in 2010 by a group of researchers in Singapore. Around that time, less extreme anti-tobacco measures-such as media campaigns, clean-air laws, and taxes-had reduced smoking in many countries to such a point that public-health advocates started to seriously consider policies that could shrink rates to effectively zero. A tobacco "endgame," as it has become known, was in sight."

"Beginning on January 1, 2027, an 18-year-old born on New Year's Day 2009 will not be able to buy products such as cigarettes and chewing tobacco for the rest of their life. But a friend born one day earlier would face no such barrier. That means, as some critics of the ban have pointed out, that 18-year-olds will almost certainly bum cigarettes from older friends-the same way younger teens have acquired them since time immemorial."

Tobacco arrived in England in the late 16th century, and King James I responded in 1604 with a massive tariff and an early anti-tobacco essay describing smoking as harmful. Despite anti-tobacco efforts over centuries, smoking persists in the United Kingdom. Public-health advocates now propose an endgame policy: a law that would prohibit anyone born on or after January 1, 2009 from ever buying cigarettes or other tobacco products. The plan builds on earlier measures like media campaigns, clean-air laws, and taxes that reduced smoking rates. Critics warn that the policy may simply shift access to older people, since younger adults could obtain cigarettes through friends.

Read at The Atlantic