The UK just promised young people a smoke-free future. In Europe, the debate continues

This week, the UK passed one of the most ambitious tobacco prevention laws in history. Anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be able to buy cigarettes. The minimum age of sale will rise by one year, every year, until smoking fades out of existence. A smoke-free generation, written into law.

The political response has been striking. Research shows 78% of the public support the legislation. Even a majority of smokers back it, many of them wishing this protection had existed when they were young, before addiction took hold. Cross-party support in parliament was strong.

This kind of ambition has been tried before and lost. New Zealand passed a similar generational smoking ban in 2022, only for it to be repealed by the incoming government before it ever came into effect. The UK has now picked up that baton. Elsewhere, momentum is building too. France banned smoking in all outdoor spaces where children are present from July 2025, including parks, beaches, school entrances and sports venues, as part of its own goal of a tobacco-free generation by 2032.

But in Europe, where lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death, the picture is more complicated.

The European Commission proposed an ambitious overhaul of tobacco taxation rules in July 2025, raising minimum tax rates across the bloc for the first time in over a decade and extending taxation to newer nicotine products. The goal was to support a tobacco-free Europe by 2040. Higher tobacco taxes are one of the most evidence-based tools available to reduce smoking, particularly among young people and those on lower incomes.

Council negotiations have repeatedly weakened that ambition. The latest compromise proposals include lower minimum tax rates and longer implementation timelines. Four member states remain opposed. A political agreement is being pushed toward June 2026, with unanimous support required on tax matters.

Lung cancer kills nearly 700,000 people in Europe every year. Tobacco is its single biggest driver. We know that 90% of people who smoke started before the age of 21. Prevention at the point where habits form is where the biggest gains can still be made.

The UK has shown this week that protecting the next generation is both possible and popular. France is moving in the same direction. Europe has the same opportunity, but it requires political courage at exactly the moment when the instinct is to compromise.

Lung Cancer Europe, alongside more than 120 health and civil society organisations, continues to call for an ambitious, evidence-based update to Europe’s tobacco taxation rules. Prevention cannot be the first thing dropped when negotiations get difficult.

The young people who will live with the consequences of these decisions deserve better than a watered-down compromise.