Parliament has sealed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, faces a permanent bar from buying tobacco. The legal age ticks up one year annually starting January 1, 2027—from 18 to 19, then 20, and onward. No one in that cohort ever qualifies. Royal assent awaits, a mere formality from King Charles III. Law then. Wes Streeting, Health Secretary, calls it historic. “Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” he said, as reported by The Guardian . Prevention over cure. Lives saved. NHS relieved. Smoking ravages the system. It triggers 64,000 deaths yearly in England alone, per The Guardian . Hospital admissions hit 400,000. NHS foots £3 billion in treatment bills. Broader economy loses £21.3 billion to £27.6 billion annually—lost productivity, early graves. Globally, tobacco claims 7 million lives; secondhand smoke adds 1.6 million, says WHO data cited in Gizmodo . UK rates have plunged already.…