Smoking ban is set to be introduced to UK no matter who wins election

With the sudden announcement from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the UK will be having a general election in early July, British politics has been become a little more chaotic when many thought it couldn't reach such levels.

And that includes the scrapping of Sunak's flagship smoking ban, with there now not enough time to get the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament before it closes for the election campaign to go in to full swing.

But the reality of the situation is a little different to how this might appear, with the ban still very much on the cards.

What's happened?

Unless you've been living under a rock, we're having a general election.

Taking place on Thursday, 4 July, Brits will be voting in a new wave of MPs, with Labour's Keir Starmer and the Conservatives' Rishi Sunak both believing they are the best man to be the prime minister come the 5th.

The announcement on Tuesday (22 May) took Westminster by surprise, with Parliament's schedule thrown in to chaos.

It means Parliament will be prorogued today, which is just a posh word for shut down.

It'll then be dissolved next Thursday so the election can officially happen exactly five weeks after that date.

Smoking is still going to banned after the election (Getty Stock Images)

Rush to make laws

With Parliament given three days notice that it was shutting down, politicians have been rushing around to prioritise which bills can make it in to law before the deadline of the end of today.

Discussions between the main political parties saw the only Bills being turned in to law before Parliament is shut down for the election being:

• The Digital Markets Bill;
• The Post Office Offences Bill, Media Bill; and
• The Victims and Prisoners Bill, which includes the compensation scheme for victims of the infected blood scandal.

There simply isn't enough time to rush any more through, House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt explained to MPs on Thursday.

It means the Tobacco and Vapes Bill didn't make the cut, which would have brought in a raft of changes to smoking and vaping laws in the UK.

Vaping was also going to be cracked down on under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Getty Stock Images)

Why the UK smoking ban will still happen

Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, politicians would vote to create the country's first ever smoke-free generation.

The ban would have meant that anyone turning 15 in 2024, and everyone younger, would never legally be allowed to buy products like cigarettes, tobacco pouches, or cigars.

And despite it being axed before it got time to become law, it is clear as day that the ban has not been scrapped but only postponed.

Both the Conservative and Labour parties have confirmed to LADbible that they remain committed to banning smoking for everyone 15 and under, regardless of the outcome of the election. It doesn't come as too much of a surprise, given Labour gave its support to Sunak's plans pre-election.

Smoking is awful for your health (Getty Stock Images)

A Conservative Party spokesman told LADbible: “The PM has been clear about his commitment to creating a smoke-free generation - reiterating it on the steps of Downing Street this week - and we plan to deliver on it.

“That's the choice at this election, between the Conservatives who have a clear plan and can deliver the bold action needed to secure a better long-term future for our country and our children, and Keir Starmer who has no plan, no convictions, and who refuses to tell you what he’d do."

Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Secretary, gave an equally political response to the issue, telling LADbible on Thursday: “If you thought Rishi Sunak getting soaked outside Downing Street yesterday was incompetent, today he has killed his own legacy by mistake.

"Labour remains committed to the policy, so that young people today are even less likely to smoke than they are to vote Tory."

Your go-to vape flavour could still soon be illegal (Getty Stock Images)

What would the Tobacco and Vapes Bill ban?

It's not just smoking for anyone currently aged 15 and younger that would be banned under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

It would also ban the sale of non-nicotine vaping products to under-18s, as well as stamping out fruity flavours such as cotton candy and strawberry lime.

Packaging for vapes would also be make less appealing and put in plain casings, like cigarettes are. And like tobacco products, vapes will be moved out of sight and kept behind covers or under the counter.

A loophole would be closed that currently allows free vaping products to be distributed for free to under-18s.

The Bill came in as a follow up to Sunak's announcement that all disposable vapes will be banned in the United Kingdom from 1 April, 2025.