Independent retailers will find out what the future of vapes and tobacco will be by the end of the year.

Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health and social care, said he will toughen up laws on vaping and smoking, and pledged to go further than former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill, proposed earlier this year. The new Bill will be revealed before Christmas.

According to the Daily Telegraph, he said the debate had already begun, with the government weighing up the benefits to health versus the encroachment on businesses and civil liberties.

“When the smoking bill is introduced, it will be more ambitious than the bill introduced by the previous government, and crucially, it will mean that children growing up in our country today will be the first ever smoke-free generation,” he said.

Ministers are also considering introducing a ban on smoking in public areas, particularly in playgrounds and near school, but it could also include pub gardens, beaches and parks. 

Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill planned to prevent anyone born after January 1 2009 from being able to ever legally purchase tobacco by raising the legal age to smoke by one year every year. It also touched on the vapes market and its appeal to children, with flavours, colourful packaging and display all under the spotlight.

Last week, it was reported that Rachel Reeves is considering raising the tax on vaping products in her budget on 30 October as figures show a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have used vape products.