In the second reading of the Tobacco and Electronic Tobacco Act on the afternoon of the 16th (local time), the House of Commons passed the bill to the next stage of the House of Commons review with 383 votes to 67 votes against it. “Too many people suffer life-changing or irreversible changes because of smoking,” Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said in a Commons debate. “There is no freedom of addiction. It is our responsibility to protect the next generation.”
Rishi Sunak’s government proposed the bill to create a smoking-free generation. The law raises the age for people born on Jan. 1, 2009 (currently 15 years old) to buy cigarettes for the rest of their lives. About 13 percent of smokers in the U.K. are 6.4 million, and 80,000 people die every year from smoking-related diseases. A survey also found that some 20 percent of minors have experience in smoking e-cigarettes, even though it is illegal to buy them for those under the age of 18. It also includes a clause restricting the scent, packaging and sales of cigarettes that teenagers will like.
The British government believes that many lives can be saved by the enactment of this law. In the UK, 6.4 million smokers, or about 13% of the population, and 80,000 people die every year from smoking-related diseases. According to a survey, about 20% of minors have experience smoking e-cigarettes, even though it is illegal to purchase e-cigarettes under the age of 18.
The main opposition Labor Party supports the bill, but liberal members of the ruling Conservative Party are showing a negative stance, calling it a “unlike the Conservative Party” policy that infringes on individual freedom. 57 Conservative Party members voted against the measure. Some 106 Conservative Party members abstained.
The bill will go through committee review, report to the plenary session, and a third reading session before being transferred to the Senate. The final vote in the Senate will likely be in mid-June.
The bill benchmarks the world’s first anti-smoking law enacted by the country, but the country, which was launched later, abolished it earlier this year. If the bill is passed, people will be able to take care of their health. However, there will be forces to suppress freedom and there could be another crime to avoid the bill. Parliament should not just pass the bill, but hold it accountable until the end. If so, it will be a good example for the world.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
