Controlling tobacco use is a major global public health trend, with more and more countries using laws, taxes, and education to reduce the health and economic costs of smoking.
France’s Health Minister, Stéphanie Rist, said in an interview on July 3rd that she personally supports a lifelong ban on selling tobacco products to anyone born in 2009 or later.
She also stressed that the government will hold discussions with “all stakeholders” before making a final decision.
According to recent reports, the French National Health Insurance Fund published its annual report on July 2nd, pointing out that France has one of the highest smoking rates in Europe. It calls for a systemic anti-smoking policy to improve public health and reduce long-term public health spending. The report specifically advocates for banning tobacco sales to anyone born in 2009 or later to create a smoke-free generation.
Back in April, both houses of the UK Parliament passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which bans the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. The bill is now awaiting Royal Assent from King Charles to become law.
The UK law is projected to reduce the number of smokers by 1.7 million. Its core rule makes it illegal for shops to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. Starting in 2027, the legal age for buying tobacco will increase by one year every year, with the goal of making the country smoke-free by around 2040.
Other supporting measures include expanding smoke-free zones to places like playgrounds, schools, and hospitals; limiting the flavors and packaging of e-cigarettes to prevent them from appealing to young people; and banning vaping in areas where smoking is already prohibited.
Industry experts and academics we spoke with agree that this kind of systematic approach is highly commendable, sending a clear message that public health is a priority. The generational ban and the full-chain regulation offer a model for other countries to follow.
Supporters in the UK call it a historic moment for the nation’s health, similar to how past bans on smoking in pubs and other public spaces gradually changed social norms. As they see it, major shifts in social behavior often start with controversial legislation.
Professor Kong Feng from the School of Humanities and Development at China Agricultural University shared some striking numbers. He noted that in the UK, about 64,000 to 75,000 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses like cancer, heart disease, and COPD, accounting for a quarter of all deaths.
Every year, 400,000 people are hospitalized due to smoking, costing the UK’s National Health Service around £3 billion directly. When you add in lost productivity, the total social cost exceeds £21.3 billion. Currently, about 6 million adults in the UK still smoke, and 83% of them started their first cigarette between ages 13 and 19. Once addicted, it’s incredibly hard to quit.
Professor Kong believes that teenagers are in a high-risk period for addiction. By preventing the next generation from starting to smoke when they’re young, you can break the cycle of teens starting to smoke, becoming addicted adults, and then influencing their own children to follow suit. This is a crucial step in shifting global tobacco control from just limiting use to actually ending it.
To help enforce the new rules, the UK government has already invested £30 million. On the ground, however, the measures face pushback from lobbying groups representing retailers and the vaping industry, as well as the sheer difficulty of enforcement.
Major tobacco interests in the UK include companies like British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands, along with their powerful lobbying networks. They use financial support, political donations, expert testimony, and media influence to try to slow down or weaken anti-smoking policies.
New Zealand passed a similar law in 2022, but it was repealed less than a year later after a change in government. This highlights the challenge the UK and France also face: political shifts and budget fluctuations can easily derail long-term public health plans.
Beyond political and financial stability, the core challenges for enforcement in the UK include black market sales, cross-border smuggling, and regulatory loopholes like proxy purchases.
Zhang Yi, CEO and Chief Analyst at iiMedia Consulting, added that, similar to age verification issues on social media platforms in countries like Australia, the cost of implementing retail-level age checks is significant.
Back in 2005, China signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), committing to comprehensive tobacco control measures.
The “Healthy China 2030” Planning Outline, issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, requires comprehensive action on tobacco control , stepping up efforts using pricing, taxes, and legal measures. It also calls for stronger public education, promoting smoke-free environments, and strictly enforcing smoking bans in public places, with the ultimate goal of a total ban on smoking in indoor public spaces.
The Outline also sets a target to reduce the smoking rate among people over 15 to 20% by 2030. According to a national monitoring survey by the National Health Commission, the smoking rate for this age group in China was 23.2% in 2024, a steady and continuous drop from 28.1% in 2010.
Yang Jie, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control and Health, previously shared in an interview that effective tobacco control relies on multiple “levers.” One key lever is strengthening anti-smoking efforts among young people, educating them about nicotine addiction and the dangers of tobacco, so they actively choose not to start, thereby controlling the number of new smokers.
