Vox Pop: Rishi Sunak's plan to stop a generation from ever buying cigarettes feasible?
Rishi Sunak has laid out a plan to stop anyone aged 14 or younger from ever legally buying cigarettes. Why has this approach been suggested, how would it work, and is it feasible? We asked members of the public and this is what they had to say.
Transcript
00:00 So with news of Rishi Shanak's plan to sort of implement a ban on 14 year olds, ban cigarettes,
00:09 what do you make of this? Do you smoke yourself? Do you think this will work?
00:13 No, I don't smoke myself but I don't even think it will work because they tried to do
00:16 it with vaping but it only just made the problem worse and just like switched it from smoking
00:21 to vaping which is just as bad.
00:23 So do you think if you were to be, if this was to be established next year that it won't
00:28 make a difference at all, people will still find a way of smoking?
00:31 Yeah, I would say so.
00:34 So what are your thoughts on the recent Rishi Shanak, you know, trying to ban under 14 year
00:40 olds from smoking as of next year?
00:42 I think there's bigger issues that need to be talked about with him.
00:46 So you think obviously this is just, do you think it's like covering up from bigger issues?
00:51 Yeah, I do. I feel like it's going to be, I mean the money comes in from smoking anyway,
00:56 I feel like there's bigger issues like him being transphobic, that's a bigger issue and
01:01 that puts you more, puts people more at risk. There's literally like, smoking, yeah, it's
01:05 a sore killer, we'll admit that, but it's about people's identity as well that he's
01:11 going into as well now and that's a bigger health warning than smoking is anyway. You're
01:16 never going to be able to stop people from smoking.
01:18 So you're thinking if he was to introduce this ban that people will still smoke?
01:22 Yeah, I mean it's like weed or drugs, there's still people doing weed and drugs, so it's
01:27 always going to be a thing. I mean it does help profit in the country anyway, so it's
01:33 not really a big issue, he's really just covering up for issues that are bigger at the moment.
01:40 So what are your thoughts on the smoking ban that Rishi Shanak is trying to bring in? Do
01:45 you smoke yourself?
01:46 Yeah, and I don't think it's going to do anything because it's already got things in place to
01:54 get people to smoke less but they're still doing it anyway and the fact that it brings
01:58 in so much profit for the country, is that right?
02:03 Yeah, so do you think with the vape situation, do you think he's going to try and out night
02:08 ban that still or is this just sort of, you know, to blanket over that one?
02:14 I think they probably will ban disposables because, well they think they need to because
02:19 like litter and stuff, but I think if they try and ban smoking overall it's not going
02:25 to happen and people are just going to go elsewhere and do it. People still do drugs,
02:30 it's illegal, but they're going to go find it elsewhere and it's not going to be regulated,
02:34 it's just going to be making it worse.
02:36 And one last question, do you think, in your personal opinion, would you say the country
02:40 sort of lost faith in him as a leader?
02:42 Oh well yeah, I know I'm not a forum.