♦ Children in Britain who are 17 or younger, ‌and anyone born in the future, will never be able to legally buy cigarettes after lawmakers approved new stricter restrictions on smoking. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill raises the legal age for buying tobacco by one ​year, every year, starting with people born on or after January 1, 2009, meaning ​affected age groups face a lifetime ban.

♦ The government says the measures will help reduce smoking and prevent young people from becoming addicted to nicotine, easing long-term pressure on the National Health Service.

♦ Smoking causes about 64,000 deaths and 400,000 hospital admissions a year in England, according to official estimates, and costs the NHS around 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) annually, with wider economic costs exceeding 20 billion pounds.