UK bill bans anyone born after 2008 from ever buying tobacco - Al Jazeera

The UK Parliament approved a law that permanently bans the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, meaning current 17-year-olds and younger will never be legally allowed to buy tobacco. That policy is part of a broader push to reduce smoking at the population level; the U.S. smoking rate falling to an all-time low (one in 11 adults) shows similar progress in lowering tobacco use. Both the U.K. law and falling U.S. prevalence reflect converging public-health strategies to drive down smoking through regulation, prevention and changing social norms, though enforcement and compliance will remain important.