IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon has written for The Spectator outlining the myriad flaws in the government’s new age-based tobacco prohibition plan.

Christopher wrote:

“At some point in the future, a 33-year-old will be able to buy cigarettes while a 32-year-old will not. Unless my finger is even further from the pulse of public opinion than I thought, this must strike most people as absurd, and it will be scarcely less ridiculous in a few short years when some first year university students will be able to buy cigarettes while others cannot.

“It takes little imagination to see that there is going to be a large informal market of cigarette sales between adults of very similar ages.

“Now consider the retailers. They are already expected to challenge anyone seeking to buy tobacco if they look under the age of 25. In ten years’ time, they will have to challenge anyone who looks under 35. In twenty years’ time, it will be anyone who looks under 45. This is not only silly, it is also time-consuming and inconvenient.”

Read Christopher’s full piece here.