Rishi Sunak is considering a recommendation that would effectively ban cigarettes for the next generation. The prime minister could introduce some of the world's toughest anti-smoking measures by steadily increasing the legal age for consuming tobacco, according to The Guardian, citing Whitehall sources.

Talks of following New Zealand's plan to gradually increase the legal smoking age are in place.The current plan is to annually increase the legal smoking age by one year, to prevent tobacco products being sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

If implemented by 2026, it would mean anyone aged 15 and under now would never be able to buy a cigarette.

However, health minister Neil O'Brien appeared to reject adopting that approach in April, when he said the government's policy for achieving a smoke-free nation by its 2030 target would focus on "helping people to quit" rather than applying bans.

It is now understood Mr Sunak is looking at different policy advice on how to reach England's smoke-free target.

In his government-commissioned report published in June 2022, Dr Khan said without urgent action England would miss the 2030 target by at least seven years, with the poorest areas not meeting it until 2044.

He put the annual cost to society of smoking at about £17bn - £2.4bn to the NHS alone.

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