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The UK has been slammed as a 'Nanny State' after a review found the legal age people can buy cigarettes should keep getting higher to create a "smokefree generation".
According to a new government report, it should become increasingly difficult for teenagers to start smoking which could be achieved by raising the youngest age limit every year.
Some people under a certain age should as a result be unable to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products in their lifetime.
In October 2007 under-18s were banned from buying cigarettes following a trading standards survey which found that 12% of shops were willing to sell tobacco to children clearly under 16.
Now 15 years later, the government sees raising the age indefinitely from 18 as key to reaching its 'Smokefree 2030' ambition which is defined as less than 5% of the population smoking.
Brits have hit back at the news on social media, complaining of the plans resembling those of a 'Nanny State'.
One Twitter user said: "No – if you are 18 to vote then you are old enough to smoke. We all know smoking can kill you and it’s an individual’s personal choice. Why are we so insistent on nannying peoples lives in this country?"
A second critic tweeted: "This is authoritarian, illiberal nanny state nonsense. I hate smoking, it’s disgusting & harmful, but adults should be free to choose what they put in their own bodies."
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Another wrote: "Plans to raise the smoking age to 21 is a crazy idea. Since I was young smoking has reduced by a phenomenal amount anyway; all done by persuasion and reasoned argument.
"New legislation will just encourage youngsters to defy the law and start smoking. Who could blame them?"
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The "landmark review" comes from Dr Javed Khan who says England will miss out on its smokefree 2030 target "by at least 7 years" unless action is taken. The poorest areas in society are not set to meet it until 2044.
The report said: "To have any chance of hitting the smokefree 2030 target, we need to accelerate the rate of decline of people who smoke, by 40%.
"We know vapes are not a 'silver bullet' nor are they totally risk-free, but the alternative is far worse."
- Smoking
- Teenagers
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