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Minister Arias-Vasquez Publishes Smoke-free Generation Bill To Protect young people and end sale of disposable vapes and nicotine pouches

Minister Arias-Vasquez Publishes Smoke-free Generation Bill To Protect young people and end sale of disposable vapes and nicotine pouches

The Minister for Health, Care and Business has today published the Smoke-free Generation, Nicotine Products and Single-use Vapes (Ban) Bill 2026, delivering on a commitment first made by the Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, at the Ceremonial Opening of Parliament.

The Bill is one of the most significant public health reforms ever brought forward in Gibraltar. At its heart is a clear principle, that today’s young people should never be sold tobacco at any point in their lives. Residents born on or after 1st January 2009 will grow up in a Gibraltar where tobacco is never sold to them, protecting them from addiction before it can take hold.

The long-term benefits are clear. Smoking is a leading cause of cancer, heart disease, stroke and lung disease. A generation that never starts smoking will live longer and healthier lives and over time this will ease the pressure on the Gibraltar Health Authority and allow resources to be focused where they are needed most.

The Bill also tackles the products now being marketed most aggressively at young people. Single-use vapes, with their bright packaging and sweet flavours, will no longer be sold in Gibraltar, ending a source of avoidable plastic and battery waste on our streets. Nicotine pouches will be banned outright.

The reform is ambitious but fair. No adult who can lawfully buy tobacco today will lose that right, and retailers will be given time to adjust. The Bill follows a public consultation on the Command Paper published in March 2025 and the views of the community have helped shape it.

The Minister for Health, Care and Business, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP, said:

“This is a Bill about the kind of Gibraltar we want our children to grow up in. Almost every smoker started young and almost every one of them wishes they had never started. We have the chance to make sure the next generation never faces that choice, and, as a mother of two young boys, I am proud that this Government is taking it. Prevention is the most effective health policy there is. This is a responsible, forward-looking reform and it is the right thing to do for our community.”