Labour to ban smoking ENTIRELY if they come to power

Labour could ban smoking ENTIRELY if they come to power, an MP has revealed.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting made the revelation during a radio appearance today (Friday, May 12).

Labour to ban smoking ENTIRELY?

Labour could ban smoking entirely if they’re elected into power, Wes Streeting has revealed today. The hadow health secretary said that following the example of New Zealand was “desirable”. He also said that there was a public ‘appetite’ to act.

New Zealand banned the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008 in a landmark attempt to eradicate smoking. This means that fewer and fewer people every year will be allowed to smoke.

The legislation – which was passed last December – also cut the number of outlets able to sell cigarettes. It also cut the nicotine levels in cigarettes to non-addictive levels.

Will Labour ban smoking?

Streeting made an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. He said that he is keen to adopt a plan that is workable if Labour win the next election.

“The question for me on the New Zealand-style smoking ban isn’t whether it’s desirable, because I think in policy terms, and in terms of public opinion, interestingly, I think there is an appetite and a policy driver there to do it,” he said.

“In practice, is it going to work? Because it would be a great headline, and certainly a great signal of intent from the Labour Party,” he then said.

Britain to follow New Zealand model?

Streeting then continued. “But as with everything else, not just in terms of money, but whether we can actually deliver in practice, we are stress testing all of the potential policies we might put in our manifesto against how much would it cost, can we pay for it, and then can we deliver it, is it going to work?” he said.

Labour unveiled a consultation on a ban back in January. Their plan has the aim of seeing fewer than 5% of adults regularly smoking by 2025.

Ministers have previously set an objective for England to be “smoke-free” by 2030. There have been warnings that England could miss the 2030 target if nothing is done soon.

Smoking rates in the UK have fallen from about half the population in the 1970s to around 15% in 2023.

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