HEALTH leaders across the South West have welcomed the Tobacco and Vapes Act receiving Royal Assent.

Describing it as a once-in-a-generation moment in the fight against the leading cause of preventable death in the region, the new Act introduces a generational ban on the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.

It also includes new powers to create further smoke-free places; a UK-wide ban on vape advertising and sponsorship; and a licensing scheme for retailers of tobacco and nicotine products.

The generational age-of-sale provisions are expected to come into force from January 1, 2027.

In February 2026, the Directors of Public Health of the South West, alongside their Council Leaders, wrote jointly to the Minister for Public Health and Prevention, urging the Government to ensure the Bill’s swift and undiluted passage through its final Parliamentary stages.

While the generational ban will protect future generations, public health leaders are urging the more than 520,000 adults across the South West who currently smoke to use this moment as a prompt to stop for good.

The latest NHS data shows that momentum is already building: nearly 26,000 people in the South West pledged to stop smoking in the year to March 2025, up from around 15,000 the year before, and 13,500 of them had not smoked a cigarette four weeks into their quit attempt, a 79 per cent increase on the previous year.

Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon, said: Despite significant progress over the past decade to reduce the number of people smoking, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable illness and early death, with more than 30 people dying every month in Devon and Torbay alone from smoking related disease.

‘The passing of this act is a huge step forward to not only help support current smokers who wish to quit but crucially stop the recruitment of new young smokers.

‘The majority of smokers took up the habit in their teenage years, with the vast majority of smokers saying they wish they never started.

‘This Bill is going to make it even harder for tobacco manufactures to recruit new young customers while helping those current smokers to seek support to quit’.