UK’s ‘generational ban’ on tobacco will give Dublin a headache |
The Government has advised Irish diplomats and officials in Brussels to be on their guard against “approaches” from tobacco industry lobbyists.
This warning should prepare them for an extraordinary set of challenges about to be created by London. Last month, Westminster passed the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which applies across the United Kingdom. Its landmark provision is a “generational ban” on tobacco products. From January 1st next year, such products can be sold only to people born before the last day of 2008. The effect will be to raise the current age limit of 18 by one year every year, until smoking dies out with the last of its adherents. By 2081, the age limit will be 72 – the lifespan of the average British smoker.
The Act also bans the sale of all vape and nicotine products to under-18s from October. When the legislation was first proposed by the former Conservative government three years ago, doubts were immediately raised over whether it could extend to Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework applies European Union single market laws in the region, including the Tobacco Products Directive, plus general laws on consumer rights and free movement of goods.
Denmark abandoned work on a generational ban in 2022, fearing it would breach these laws. That unnerved other EU countries interested in similar measures, Ireland among them.
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