Public Health leads at Northumberland County Council have praised the announcement of new legislation that will increase the legal age to buy tobacco in England.

Northumberland's executive director of Public Health, Gill O’Neill, warmly greeted the government's announcement.

She said: "I am delighted to see that the new legislation means it will be illegal for any child who turned 14 last year or younger to be ever sold cigarettes in England.

"This is a landmark announcement, as tobacco is the biggest preventable cause of ill health, disability and death.

"Preventing children from ever taking up smoking will give them the best possible start in life and help us work towards a smokefree generation."

Enthusiasm for the new law was also voiced by Cllr Wendy Pattison, chair of the Northumberland Tobacco Control Partnership, who said: "The dangers of smoking are well-documented, and we need to do all we can to prevent our children from ever taking up smoking and this new legislation is a step in the right direction."

The new bill also plans to prohibit disposable vapes, control vape flavours, introduce plain packaging for vapes, and dictate how they are displayed in shops, making them less appealing to children.

Anyone seeking to quit smoking in Northumberland can visit stopsmokingnorthumberland.co.uk or call 01670 813135.