UK introduces a tough anti-tobacco bill but smokers can puff away in pub gardens for now

Legislation intended to ban today’s British children from ever legally being able to smoke has begun its journey through Parliament. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced Tuesday, will raise the minimum age for buying tobacco by one year each year. That means no one born after January 1, 2009 will ever be able to buy cigarettes. It will also bar smoking and vaping in some outdoor spaces such as playgrounds and the entrances to schools and hospitals. But a proposed ban on smoking in pub beer gardens has been dropped after opposition from bar owners. The number of people who smoke in Britain has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but about 13% of the population still smokes.