TORY MP for Central Devon Mel Stride has hailed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, saying it could “bring the UK closer to creating the first smoke-free generation”. 

If it becomes law, selling tobacco to anyone born in 2009 or later would become a crime. 

It means children aged 15 or younger today would never legally be able to buy tobacco products. 

The bill would also give the government new powers to restrict vaping flavours and regulate how vapes are sold and packaged to make them less appealing to children. 

Mel Stride, who is also Work and Pensions Secretary in PM Rishi Sunak’s cabinet, said he has called for tighter restrictions on access to tobacco products to children for several years, and previously campaigned for plain-packaged tobacco products.   

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently at committee stage on its way through the House of Commons.