In an interview with BBC news, Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has mentioned plans to change the UK’s smoking policy if a Labour government is elected.
Wes said, “We're going to consult on a whole package of measures to tackle smoking in this country. The government is not on course to meet its 2030 target.
"And one of the things that were recommended to the government in one of their reviews was phasing out the sale of cigarettes altogether over time. We'll be consulting on that, and a whole range of other measures."
These new plans would mirror the policy currently in place in New Zealand. Wes said, "The New Zealand government are doing it, we want to see how that works. I'm genuinely curious, if we're going to get the NHS back on track, we also need to focus on public health."
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said to The Express, “Labour is absolutely right: to get the NHS back on track we have to focus on improving public health. Tackling smoking is key as it is still a leading cause of premature death and disease, responsible for half the difference in life expectancy between rich and poor.”
“ASH supports a consultation on raising the age of sale, but also on how it should be achieved.
"The New Zealand option is one model, but another, easier to implement and widely supported by the majority of the public and tobacco retailers too is to raise the age of sale to 21. Both options should be consulted on.”