The Know Daily - Thursday 21 March 2024

_{Read in 5m 18s ∙ Listening to Cleo Sol ∙}

A 200-year-old common beech in the Polish city of Wrocław has been named European Tree of the Year 2024, in a contest that celebrates our relationship with nature. We’ll leaf you to scroll through the runners-up 👇 

🚬 Stub it out

The UK government's plan to outlaw the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2009 started its journey into law yesterday.

Go on…
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was formally introduced in parliament on Wednesday, with the date that MPs will begin debating the proposed legislation yet to be announced.

If the bill passes, it will prevent children turning 15 this year, or anyone younger, from ever being sold tobacco legally, said Reuters. Smoking itself wouldn’t be criminalised, so anyone who can legally buy tobacco now will still be able to do so in the future, said the government.
 
And what does this mean for vaping?
In response to a “huge rise” in the number of children using vapes, the legislation would also bring in new powers to restrict vape flavours and packaging “intentionally marketed at children”.

Shops that fail to clamp down on underage sales of vapes and tobacco would be given “on-the-spot fines” of £100 - and under separate environmental legislation, the government has committed to ban the sale of disposable vapes from April 2025.

Is the bill likely to pass?
While a number of senior Conservatives have said they will vote against the plan - with former PM Liz Truss describing it as a “nanny state” policy - The Guardian notes that the bill is “very likely” to pass thanks to cross-party support, with Labour indicating it would support the measure.

What’s the bigger picture?
In 2022, New Zealand pioneered legislation to introduce a steadily rising smoking age - but last November, it said it was scrapping the policy to help fund tax cuts. The New Zealand government announced yesterday that it would be banning the sale of disposable e-cigarettes and vapes.

Experts have largely welcomed the plan, having long advocated for measures that would prevent people from taking up smoking. If the bill does pass, it would make the UK the first country in the world to aim for a “smoke-free generation” - defined as 5% or less of the population using cigarettes - by phasing out the sale of tobacco.