Published Apr 22, 2026 | 6:22 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 22, 2026 | 6:22 PM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
Synopsis: UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill introduces a generational ban on cigarette sales, ensuring those born after 2009 can never legally buy tobacco. Experts in India see lessons in this phase-wise approach, contrasting it with India’s reliance on taxes and warnings. Cardiologist Dr. Madivada highlights rising youth smoking and vaping, urging stricter cultural and policy interventions.
The United Kingdom’s move to create a “smoke-free generation” by permanently banning cigarette sales to those born after 1 January, 2009, has triggered fresh conversations in India, where tobacco use remains a major public health challenge.
The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which has cleared Parliament, will effectively raise the legal age for buying tobacco by one year every year from 2027, ensuring that today’s children can never legally purchase cigarettes in their lifetime. Health authorities there have described it as one of the most significant public health interventions in decades, aimed at reducing preventable deaths and long-term disease burden.
While India has long relied on taxation, warning labels, and public smoking bans under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), experts say the UK’s approach represents a structural shift that goes beyond deterrence.
Dr. Mukharjee Madivada, senior interventional cardiologist and managing director of Pulse Heart Center in Hyderabad, said the policy could offer important lessons for India, where tobacco consumption continues to rise, especially among younger populations.
“Consumption has increased over a period of time and that is very bad because of all the influence, social media influence, peer pressure. More and more people are taking up smoking,” he told South First, adding that there is “no nuanced view” when it comes to smoking. “It is definitely bad for health. There is no two ways about it.”
India accounts for a significant share of global tobacco-related disease, with rising cases of heart disease, cancers, and respiratory illnesses linked to smoking and smokeless tobacco use. Despite repeated tax hikes and awareness campaigns, public health experts have flagged that behavioural change remains limited.
Dr. Madivada argued that while a complete ban on tobacco may be ideal from a health perspective, it is not practical in India’s socio-economic context.
“I always wanted a total ban on smoking. But that was impractical because the government was getting some money out of it. People who are addicted are not able to quit it,” he said. “And then for us, tobacco industry is not only a big industry like a large multinational, but the beedi industry is also there… people earn their livelihood by making beedis.”
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He pointed to the UK model as a more realistic “phase-wise” strategy that targets future generations without disrupting existing users or livelihoods overnight.
“People who are not supposed to be smoking so far, that is 17 years or younger people, they cannot buy cigarettes in their whole life. Not for people who are already adults… this is a phase-wise thing,” he explained. “Your kids, my kids, they shouldn’t ever be in touch with smoking.”
The UK legislation also expands restrictions on vaping, banning its use in spaces such as playgrounds, school areas, hospitals, and inside vehicles carrying children, while tightening regulations on advertising and product design.
In India, vaping is already banned under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019. However, enforcement remains weak, with devices still easily available through informal channels and online networks.
Dr. Madivada warned that vaping may be emerging as an even bigger threat among young people.
“Vaping is banned, but it is only on paper. It is freely available,” he said. “My kids are in school, they say that kids are vaping. It has become very popular and it is more dangerous than smoking because people perceive it as something that is inactive.”
He explained that the perception of reduced harm is driving uptake among first-time users.
“Vaping for a person who is smoking may be okay because he is downgrading it. But vaping in a person who is not smoking at all… it is very, very dangerous. It contains nicotine and it is going to affect health,” he said.
The cardiologist also emphasised the role of media and popular culture in shaping smoking behaviour, calling for stricter controls on depiction of tobacco use.
“Most of the new onset smokers look at a hero who smokes and then they think that it is very stylish,” he said. “There should not be any smoking at all in films or OTT content. That is a minimum requirement.”
Public health experts in India have long advocated for stronger, youth-focused interventions, including plain packaging, stricter advertising controls, and better cessation support. However, policy remains a balancing act between health priorities and economic realities, particularly in states where tobacco cultivation and beedi production provide employment.
The UK’s generational ban, though implemented in a very different economic setting, is now being seen as a test case for whether long-term, preventive strategies can succeed where conventional measures have struggled.
For India, the question is no longer just about raising taxes or issuing warnings, but whether it is ready to rethink its tobacco control strategy for the next generation.
