The Tobacco and Vapes Bill - what does it mean for lung health?

The government has just passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill after its third reading. What does that mean and how will this impact people with lung conditions? Laura, from our policy team, explains more.

Laura, Policy team, Asthma + Lung UK
Published 27th March 2025

What is the Tobacco and Vapes Bill?

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is groundbreaking legislation that will help to create a smoke-free generation.

It will:

  • Make it illegal to sell tobacco products to children born on or after 1 January 2009. This means the ‘legal age of sale’ will increase by one year, every year, until no one can legally buy these products.
  • Restrict how vapes and other consumer nicotine products (such as nicotine pouches) are branded and advertised. This will make sure these products are not appealing to children and young people.
  • Place stricter rules on where people can smoke and vape in public. This will help people with lung conditions who are triggered by other people smoking and vaping near them.
  • Create a licensing scheme for retailers that sell tobacco, vapes and other nicotine products. This will make sure that retailers are following the new rules and will help the government enforce these new laws.

Why is this bill so important?

Smoking, and breathing in second-hand smoke, puts your lungs at risk. Smoking is the leading cause of cancer, causes 9 out of 10 cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can also cause obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It also increases the risk of getting chest infections like flu and pneumonia.

Passing this bill is really important because it will help to prevent millions of people from starting to smoke. This will protect the lungs of the next generation.  

For people living with a lung condition, this bill will help to reduce the amount of public spaces where people can smoke and vape, meaning fewer people will be exposed to potential triggers.

For people who already smoke, we want to see the government put more funding into stop smoking services, paid for by the tobacco industry via a Smokefree Fund.

What happens next?

The bill has just passed through its third reading in the House of Commons, which means that MPs from across the UK voted in support of this bill.

It now goes into the House of Lords where the bill will be debated. Every part of the bill has to be agreed to and votes on any changes can take place. Once this has happened, the bill will receive “royal assent” and become the law.

When the bill was first introduced last year, over 1,000 of you wrote to MPs in over 500 constituencies to ask them to vote in favour of the bill. It’s thanks to you that so many MPs have got behind this legislation, which could make such a life-changing difference to everyone’s lung health.

If you smoke, and want support to quit, have a look at our website.

Tobacco and Vapes Bill explained

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