Forest has reacted with anger to a report that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is 'considering introducing some of the world's toughest anti-smoking measures that would in effect ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes'.

Director Simon Clark said:

“Prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to future generations of adults won't stop people smoking. It will simply drive the sale of cigarettes underground and into the hands of criminal gangs.

"Treating adults like children by denying them the right to buy cigarettes legally would take the nanny state to another level."

He added:

"Smoking rates have been falling for decades. The idea that any government would prioritise tackling smoking at a time when the country faces far more important challenges at home and abroad is frankly obscene.

"If it's true that the prime minister wants to introduce some of the world's toughest anti-smoking measures, denying millions of adults the freedom to choose, it will be a Conservative government in name only."