Students’ question to UK PM Rishi Sunak: “What if your kids started smoking?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed Boston students, discussing the harmful consequences of smoking. PM pledges to create a smokefree generation.
He wrote on his LinkedIn post:
When I spoke to students in Boston yesterday, they asked me what I’d say if I found out that my kids smoked or vaped.
My answer is the same as any parent – nobody wants their child to smoke.
Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of ill health, disease and death in our society.
And right now, we have the opportunity to make a massive difference to millions of people for years to come – creating a whole generation that will grow up smoke free.
We’ll bring in new laws so children turning 14 or younger this year can never legally be sold cigarettes in their lifetime.
At the same time we’re also going to clamp down on the very worrying rise in the number of young people vaping. Talk to any parent or school, like I did yesterday, and they’ll tell you about this.
I want to make sure we support teachers and parents to do this and that’s why we’re consulting with people on our plans.
We have a chance to cut cancer deaths by a quarter and significantly ease huge pressures on the NHS – let’s take it.