Baku, April 17, AZERTAC
British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to back government plans to introduce a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking, according to Euronews.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, a key policy announced by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year, will make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 2009.
The legislation passed by 383 votes to 67.
The front bench of the opposition Labour Party voted to support the plan but 57 Tory MPs voted against.
Sunak had been expected to face rebellion from Authorities say the bill will create modern Britain's "first smoke-free generation".
Supporting the ban, England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said once people become addicted to smoking "their choice is taken away".
"When I was a junior doctor doing surgery I remember the tragedy of seeing people, whose legs had had to be cut off because of the smoking that had damaged their arteries, outside the hospital weeping as they lit up because they were trapped by addiction. That is not choice," he added.
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, children turning 15 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco. The legal age of sale that people in England can buy cigarettes will be raised by one year, every year, until it is eventually illegal for the whole population.
The bill also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as banning the sale of cheap disposable vapes and limiting their flavours to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.