Will Scotland sign up to Sunak's smoking ban?

Rishi Sunak has promised tough new action in England to stub out smoking for the younger generation. In the past, Scotland has taken a lead in anti-smoking measures, so will it now follow the same path as the prime minister?

What is Rishi Sunak's anti-smoking plan?

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the prime minister pledged to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year, every year. It is currently 18 throughout the UK.

The change would be subject to a free vote in Parliament - but if passed it would mean that "a 14-year old today will never legally be sold a cigarette", the PM said.

Full details are unclear at this stage but it is expected that the sale of tobacco products would be banned to anyone born after a certain date. In order to cover children aged 14 and under, the rules would have to be in place by 2027.

Rishi Sunak claimed his anti-smoking plan was the "biggest public health intervention" in a generation

The measure is specifically targeted at the next generation of potential smokers, and would not affect anyone currently able to buy cigarettes legally.

A similar measure has already been introduced in New Zealand which last December passed legislation to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

In fact New Zealand is going much further than what Mr Sunak is proposing, with its measures also including dramatically reducing the amount of nicotine in tobacco products and allowing tobacco to be sold only in specialist stores rather than corner shops and supermarkets.

When it comes into force, officials believe the number of places able to sell tobacco in New Zealand will fall from about 8,000 currently to under 500.

How will the plans affect Scotland?

Health policy is a devolved issue so it is up to the Scottish Parliament to decide the legal smoking age in Scotland.

But while Mr Sunak's proposals would only apply in England, he wants to work with the devolved governments to develop a UK-wide approach.

That was what happened when the legal age for buying tobacco was last increased from 16 to 18 in 2007.

The Welsh government has already said it will adopt the plan, and Labour has said it would vote for it at Westminster.

The Scottish government is due to publish a "refreshed" Tobacco Action Plan later this year, so we will have to wait until then for the details.

Scotland was the first part of the UK to ban smoking in public places such as cafes

But ministers are proud of Scotland's anti-smoking action to date, so it looks unlikely they will opt for measures that could be seen as less ambitious.

In 2006 Scotland was the first UK nation to ban smoking in public places like restaurants and pubs.

Last year a voluntary smoke-free policy around hospital buildings was toughened up with the introduction of fines of up to £1,000.

Scotland has a target of becoming "tobacco free" - defined as having a smoking prevalence of less than 5% of the population - by 2034.

What about vaping?

Many would argue that tobacco - although still a huge drain on NHS resources - is already becoming less of a problem, particularly among young people, while a new threat is emerging in the form of vaping.

Smoking in Scotland has been on the decline since 2003, and by 2021 it was believed that about 11% of Scottish adults were smokers.

The 45-54 age group had the highest prevalence (16%) while about 9% of 16-24 year olds were using tobacco products.

With a packet of 20 cigarettes typically costing about £13, the attraction to children of brightly-coloured single-use vapes that can often be bought for under £5 is obvious.

Popular disposable products like Elf Bar or Lost Mary promise 600 puffs and come in flavours ranging from "gummy bear" to "pink lemonade".

Ash Scotland says e-cigarette use by 15-year-olds has tripled in the last five years

The Scottish government's most recent health and wellbeing census found in 2021/22 that only 4.3% of S4 pupils were regular smokers while 10.1% were regular vapers.

The long-term health risks of vaping, particularly for those who start young, are not yet understood, but many health professionals are worried.

• Vaping safety message luring in children - expert

While welcoming any measure that curbs the availability of tobacco, Sheila Duffy from anti-smoking campaign Ash Scotland told BBC News that tackling vaping was an urgent priority.

"The real problem in Scotland at the moment, the urgent problem, is young people experimenting with e-cigarettes - very easily available, highly coloured and flavoured, cheap disposable e-cigarettes," she told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland.

"The Scottish government hasn't been acting and can act - it has the powers to act right now on this."

As with cigarettes, it is currently illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, but they are highly profitable for retailers and stemming the supply to young people is challenging.

Ministers have promised action on reducing vaping among young people as well as curbing the environmental impact of single-use vapes.

A consultation is taking place, and the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan will also include proposals for vapes - but Ms Duffy believes action must come quickly.

"Yes we need movement on disposables, but we don't need it in four years' time. We need it now," she said.