New regulations to protect children from smoking
New regulations to protect the health of young people and curb youth smoking will enter into force in England and Wales on 1 October 2015.
In addition to legislation prohibiting smoking in cars when children are present, it will also be illegal for adults to buy tobacco on behalf of young people – a practice known as proxy purchasing.
The proxy purchasing rule will also apply to electronic cigarettes. A separate regulation will make it illegal for young people under the age of 18 to buy e-cigarettes. [1]
Research commissioned by ASH reveals that the law prohibiting ban on smoking in cars with children younger than 18 years of age is supported by 88% of adults in the North East and is also supported by three quarters (74%) of smokers nationwide. [2]
The new regulations [3] follow the legislation prohibiting the display of tobacco products at the point of sale which was fully implemented in April this year. Next year will see the introduction of standardised (plain) tobacco packaging and implementation of the revised EU Tobacco Products Directive which will require large pictorial health warnings on both the front and back of cigarette packs. [4]
Lisa Surtees, Acting Director of Fresh, said: “This is a hugely important week with legislation to protect children from the harm of tobacco and secondhand smoke, and applying sensible laws around age of sale for electronic cigarettes, which we believe offer great potential to help adult smokers to quit.”
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has produced guidance for enforcement officers and the public on the Smoke-free (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015.
ENDS
Notes and Links:
[1] For an overview of the regulations see the ASH/CTSI briefing: Changes to tobacco regulations 2015/16 http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_937.pdf
[2] ASH YouGov Smokefree GB Survey 2015. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 10017 adults in England. Fieldwork was undertaken between 26th February and 12th March 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
[3] Regulations in full: The Smoke-free (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2015/9780111126004/contents