Raising the age at which you can buy cigarettes will “protect the next generation” from early graves, the Irish Heart Foundation has said. 

Tomorrow, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will ask the Cabinet for permission to draft legislation to raise the age from 18 to 21.

Restrictions on the sale of disposable vapes will also be discussed.

“There are 4,500 people in Ireland who die every year as a direct result of smoking,” Irish Heart Foundation Director of Advocacy and Patient Support Chris Macey said.

“This measure is going to protect the next generation from that absolutely deadly impact that we continue to experience despite the fact that over time the overall smoking rate has been going down.”

A man smokes a cigarette.

The aim of the legislation is to cut the number of people who become addicted to tobacco but speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Taoiseach Simon Harris stressed that no one who currently smokes will be prevented from doing so by any change in the legislation.

“We’re not talking about making something that illegal that is legal today,” he said.

“In other words, if you’re 18, 19, 20 and you’re smoking today - we wish you weren’t from a public health point of view - but we’re not intending to make that illegal.

“We’re talking about people when they reach the age of 18, so people who are not yet 18.”

The change follows the announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year that the age at which someone can buy cigarettes in England will increase one year every year from 2027.

Main image: A woman lighting a cigarette. Picture by: Geoff Smith / Alamy Stock Photo