Media contact:
Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy
(202) 659-4310

The UK is the largest nation to enact a Tobacco Endgame Policy

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 29, 2026 – Today, After a parliamentary proceeding with strong cross-party support, today King Charles III signed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill into law in the United Kingdom.

The UK’s Tobacco-Free Generation law will achieve a Tobacco Endgame by ending the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2008. Tobacco products are defined as any products containing tobacco leaf, including cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco, chew, and heated tobacco (i.e. IQOS).

“Today, the United Kingdom has taken a historic stand to protect future generations from the deadly, aggressive, and highly addictive tobacco industry,” said Laurent Huber, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health in the US.

“Creating a tobacco-free generation is not just a policy milestone – it is a profound commitment to public health, ensuring that young people will grow up free from the harms of tobacco. This courageous  action sets a powerful precedent for the world, a precedent we hope to see more cities, states, and countries follow through the wide array of Tobacco Endgame policies available.”

The UK’s Tobacco-Free Generation (TFG) law is one of many Tobacco Endgame policies. Tobacco Endgame policies are initiatives designed to change/eliminate permanently the structural, political and social dynamics that sustain the commercial tobacco epidemic, in order to end it within a specific time. In practice, Tobacco Endgame policies phase out the sale of commercial tobacco products.

In the US, Tobacco Endgame policies started to pass in 2019 with a tobacco retail license phase out policy in Dolgeville, NY and a complete sales ban in Beverly Hills, CA. Since then, a total of 4 cities in California have passed a tobacco sales ban, 6 cities have passed a tobacco retail license phase out, and 23 cities in Massachusetts have passed a Nicotine-Free Generation policy. The Massachusetts movement is growing every day with more cities recognizing that they don’t want tobacco or nicotine products to be a part of their future.

Globally, the Maldives has passed a Smoke-Free Generation policy, and there are bills pending in France and South Australia for a Tobacco-Free and Nicotine-Free Generation policy, respectively.

Tobacco Endgame policies are a natural policy progression to regulate tobacco products in proportion to the harm they cause. Tobacco products kill when used as intended, therefore they should not be sold.

The United Kingdom has joined the Maldives in setting a new global standard for tobacco regulation, one where tobacco products are never sold to future generations.

ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH
Founded in 1967, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is America’s oldest anti-tobacco organization, dedicated to a world with ZERO tobacco deaths. Because tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, ASH supports bold solutions proportionate to the magnitude of the problem. https://ash.org