The Chancellor’s inflation-busting hike in tobacco duty could drive even more people to vote for Reform, say campaigners. Accusing the Government of punishing smokers from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Responding to latest ONS figures on adult smoking habits, which show that the proportion of the adult population in the UK who smoke cigarettes fell to 10.6 per cent (5.3 million) in 2024, Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ rights group Forest, said:

Public opinion is divided on the government’s generational smoking ban, according to a series of polls commissioned by the smokers’ rights group Forest.

According to a recent poll, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which moves to the committee stage in the House of Lords on October 27, was rated ninth out of ten government bills that are currently progressing through parliament.

According to a new survey conducted by iReach for the smokers’ rights group Forest Ireland, 79% of adults agree that it is ‘understandable’ that smokers might choose to buy cigarettes from the black market or abroad where tobacco is often significantly cheaper than in Ireland.

“Smoking in the open air is not a public health issue because there is no evidence that smoking outside is harmful to anyone else’s health, including children.

Following the prohibition of smoking on beaches and in parks in France, the Irish Heart Foundation has said it supports further restrictions on smoking in Ireland.

Smokers’ rights campaigners say the disposable vape ban, which will take effect from Sunday June 1, is a “disproportionate” response to youth vaping and environmental concerns and will create a “significant” black market in single use devices.