The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Commons yesterday, will raise the legal age of the purchase of tobacco by one year every year — meaning those currently 15 and under will never be allowed to buy cigarettes.

Having secured the agreement of the devolved governments, the UK government intends for the legislation to apply across the whole United Kingdom.

However, doubts have previously been raised over the law’s implementation in Northern Ireland, where the EU Tobacco Products Directive continues to apply as a result of the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Irish and Danish governments have said they have received legal advice that such a law would not be possible within the EU for reasons including the Tobacco Products Directive.

Jim Allister, a barrister and MP for the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), told MPs yesterday: “There are vested interests who will try to challenge the bill’s applicability in Northern Ireland because of the tobacco directive, and I am fearful of the line that the courts might take, because we have had some examples.

“This house passed — for better or for worse — the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. It also passed the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.

“I am not commenting on their merits. I am making it clear that when they went to the High Court in Belfast, both were declared inoperable in Northern Ireland. Why? Because of the supremacy of EU law.

“If that were to happen with this bill, it would be an absolute scandal. We would not be able to afford the people of Northern Ireland the same health protections that the bill will afford to everyone else in the United Kingdom.”

He challenged the government to give a commitment that it would “override any suppression of this law in Northern Ireland and stand up for UK sovereignty in my part of the United Kingdom”.

Andrew Gwynne, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for health and social care, said in response that the government “have taken into account all domestic and international obligations in bringing forward this bill today”.

He said: “This is a United Kingdom law. It covers all four nations of the United Kingdom, and we are assured that it complies with the requirements of the Windsor Framework. This law will stand.”