The CEO of Action on smoking and health (ASH) Hazel Cheeseman (above) has written an open letter to retailers across the UK ahead of the smokefree generation age-of-sale law taking effect on 1 January 2027.

The letter sets out what the change will mean for businesses, communities and public health, and urges the sector to treat the policy as “a manageable transition with long-term benefits for business and public health”.

Under the measure, it will be illegal to sell tobacco to those born on or after 1 January 2009, with the legal age of sale rising by one year every year.

Over time, the measure is designed to phase out smoking for the next generation.

According to the charity, government modelling suggests that the policy could drive smoking rates among people under 40 down towards near zero by 2040.

In the letter, Cheeseman encouraged retailers to “engage early, access guidance and view the smokefree generation policy as a long-term win for businesses, customers and communities”.

The move comes after the Government wrote to Sainsbury’s and Morrisons last year, urging them to stop “advertising and promoting” heated tobacco products, which it said was illegal.

The letter followed a BBC report in February 2025 that the grocers were using video screens and posters featuring devices that created a nicotine-containing vapour through heating tobacco using an electric current.

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