The Know Daily - Thursday 5 October 2023

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Seven bird species that are in critical decline have returned to a site in Dorset following a successful rewilding project. Nightingales, greenfinches and skylarks have all been spotted at Wild Woodbury, after the Dorset Wildlife Trust began “re-naturalising” a nearby river to create a wetland environment.

🚭 Stub it out

PM Rishi Sunak has defended a plan to phase out smoking among younger generations, describing it as “the single biggest intervention in public health in a generation”.

What’s the story?
Sunak announced the measure during his keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Wednesday. The plan seeks to raise the legal age of smoking every year by one year so that eventually no one can buy tobacco. “A 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette,” said the PM.

What’s the reasoning behind it?
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sunak said introducing measures to restrict choice is “never easy” but that smoking is “the single biggest preventable cause of death, disability and illness”.

While smoking rates have been falling since the 1970s, there are still more than six million smokers across the UK. Downing Street said the plan should mean 1.7 million fewer people smoking by 2075.

How has the policy been received?
The tobacco industry has criticised the plan, with the Tobacco Manufacturers Association describing it as a “disproportionate attack” on adults’ rights. There is also concern in some quarters that the policy could lead to a black market trade in cigarettes.

But health charities have welcomed the news. “The plan [...] will also help relieve the strain on the NHS, given that smoking causes so much ill-health,” said The Guardian.

What next?
The policy still has to be approved by MPs but, if passed, the law would take effect in 2027 - giving Britain some of the world’s toughest smoking restrictions. In December last year, New Zealand became the first country to introduce a steadily rising smoking age to stop those aged 14 and under from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes.

“Increases to the smoking age have successfully reduced smoking rates among young people around the world,” said Reuters.