A majority of public respondents opposed an age based smoking ban, according to a select committee report published in May.
The House of Keys Select Committee on Tobacco and Nicotine Products found that most consultation respondents answered “no” when asked if they agreed with a policy banning smoking for those born on or after a certain date.
However, the committee suggested this may be due to a lack of understanding about what the policy means in practice.
The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Act makes it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born after 1 January 2009.
Despite the public opposition, the committee concluded the question “is no longer whether the Isle of Man should wait to observe the UK’s direction of travel, but whether it should now take deliberate steps to align with a framework that will, over time, become the prevailing regulatory standard in the British Isles”.
Dr Michelle Haywood, who chaired the committee, told the House of Keys: “The Isle of Man is now at the risk of the very cross border differences that members were concerned about when I first asked for leave to introduce. We have once again fallen behind protecting our next generation.”