Ideas

The End of Cigarettes Is Coming

The U.K. is phasing out smoking. How long will Americans tolerate tobacco—and other vices?

First published in The Atlantic on May 4, 2026.

by Charles Fain Lehman, The Atlantic

May 7, 2026 | reading time: 5 Min.

For almost two decades, British retailers have told customers that if they were born after the current date 18 years ago, they can’t buy cigarettes. Starting next year, that date will freeze. Under a recently passed law, selling cigarettes to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, will be illegal—in perpetuity. As long as the law is in effect, no one who is 17 or younger on New Year’s Day 2027 will ever be allowed to buy tobacco legally.