These are the cigarettes and rolling tobacco due to be banned from May
These are the cigarettes and rolling tobacco due to be banned from MayFrom May 2020, smokers will be unable to purchase particular kinds of cigarettes and rolling tobacco after new laws come into force. As part of the UK government's new plans to curb smoking across the nation, the government will be bringing in a ban on certain kinds of tobacco products on 20 May. Stemming from the EU's Tobacco Product Directive laws, the ban will outlaw cigarettes that have a "characterising flavour", other than tobacco. This includes menthol and skinny cigarettes, as well as flavoured rolling tobacco.
Which products are being banned?
The charity ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) said that the changes to the law will stop the sale of any papers, filters, packaging, capsules or components which add flavouring to cigarettes or tobacco. The ban will extend to any so-called "technical features" which allow customers to modify the taste, smell or smoke intensity of the product.The plans follow a 2017 ban on packs of 10 cigarettes which also saw fruit flavoured cigarettes phased out.
What's the reason for the ban?
The ban is predicated on the fact that these products encourage social smoking among younger people - something the government wants to discourage. Menthol cigarettes, in particular, are believed to encourage younger smokers to take up the habit, as the minty flavour conceals the taste of tobacco and leads smokers to become addicted more easily. Despite myths that menthol cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, they are actually just as damaging as ordinary ones.
'Sin taxes'
The upcoming budget - the first of Boris Johnson's majority government - may also affect the price of cigarettes along with some other products. On 11 March the newly-appointed chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will deliver a financial statement laying out the government's plans for spending over the next year. It's likely the government will announce "sin taxes" on alcohol and cigarettes. It's not yet known, however, how high these taxes will be, or what products they may be levied on.
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