The UK government is pursuing a radical new policy: a Generational Smoking Ban. This means that anyone born after 2009 will never be able to buy cigarettes legally. Supporters claim it’s a bold step toward a smoke-free future—but is it really that simple?

Prohibition has a long history of unintended consequences, from black markets to lost tax revenue. So why is the government ignoring these warnings? And could this policy actually increase smoking rates in the long run?

In this video, Maxwell Marlow breaks down the flaws of the Generational Smoking Ban as well as the other punitive measures outlined in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024

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🔗 Read our research ‘19 Million Years of Life: The Case for Real Harm Reduction Policy’: https://www.adamsmith.org/research/tobacco-harm-reduction-19-million-years-of-life

🔗 Read Sebastian Charleton’s blog – Innovation Not Prohibition: https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/innovation-not-prohibition

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Start
00:36 – History of smoking
01:37 – Vapes, snus & heated tobacco
02:29 – ASI Research
03:51 – The Ban
05:04 – International Examples
05:58 – Prohibition
07:24 – Bhutan
07:57 – Restrictions on Vapes
09:56 – Lessons from Sweden
10:35 – Solutions
13:05 – End