Major change to smoking laws set to be introduced in ‘radical’ plan to promote vaping and e-cigarettes

A MAJOR change to smoking laws could be introduced in a “radical” plan to promote vaping and e-cigarettes.

Brits will be encouraged to quit the bad habit as Health Secretary Sajid Javid awaits a damning report on the tobacco industry, it’s been reported.

An independent review, commissioned by the Health Secretary, is expected to be published in the coming weeks.

It’s set to suggest that the legal age to buy cigarettes should be increased to 21 in Britain.

New taxes will also be slapped on tobacco company profits in a bid to cut the habit by 2030, reports .

The legal smoking age is currently 18 – but plans could be drawn up to change the law if Sajid Javid implements the recommendations.

He himself quit smoking last year when he became Health Secretary after Matt Hancock quit over his lockdown-breaking scandal, revealed by The Sun.

The new report was written by Javed Khan – a former charity boss – who supports a “polluter pays” ideal, where tobacco companies are charged for the cost of anti-smoking policies.

A source close to anti-smoking tsar Mr Khan said: “The stance he’s taken in the meetings I’ve had with him has been quite radical.”

The review will help Javid make his case to increase the legal age to 21 – and get the smoking reforms passed in the Commons.

The ban on under 21s buying cigarettes and smoking could help the plan to make the country smoke-free by the end of the decade.

It’s also set to make vaping and e-cigarettes more accessible – as an alternative to cigarettes.

And taxing the tobacco industry could raise £700 million a year, which would then be used to provide e-cigarettes on the NHS to help Brits quit the bad habit.

An insider added: “Sajid Javid is interested in health inequality and he is interested in tackling public health issues, but the Government is in hock to right-wing MPs.

“On tobacco, they are still nervous about some kind of nanny state attack.”

Some sources claim that Khan wants the legal age to be 25 – but insiders believe it’s more likely that the recommended age will be shifted to 21.

This comes after a study warned that smoking singles are three times more likely to be ‘left on the shelf’ than their non-smoking counterparts.

BUTT OUT

A study of 2,000 non-smokers found 38 per cent of online daters would swipe left to reject a would-be love interest if they were seen smoking or vaping in their profiles.

Smoking among the 18-30 group in England shot up by 25 per cent during the first lockdown, the equivalent of 652,000 more young adults smoking compared with before the pandemic.

Experts say the rise was partially due to the stress of the pandemic, but raised concerns that it could be a trend.

Overall, smoking rates across the country have been falling steadily over the past 20 years and cigarette use dropped from 15.8 per cent in 2019 to 14.5 per cent in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics.

However, there are still six million smokers in England.

Tobacco remains the single largest cause of preventable death and 64,000 people died from conditions related to smoking in 2019.