Launch of the Smokefree Generation Alliance 

Wednesday, 11th November 2026: The Irish Cancer Society was proud to join youth groups and public health, patient and professional representatives from across the island of Ireland in Dublin city centre to launch the Smokefree Generation Alliance.

Over twenty organisations came together to call on the Irish Government to prepare legislation to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after the 1st of January 2009, creating a smokefree generation across the island of Ireland. 

In the UK, children born on or after the 1st of January 2009 will never be legally allowed to purchase tobacco, effectively meaning that the legal age of sale of tobacco products in Great Britain and Northern Ireland will increase every year from 2027 onwards.

Although the legal age of sale of tobacco products in the Republic of Ireland will increase to 21 on the 1st of February 2028, the legal age in Northern Ireland will increase to 22 by 2030, risking a misalignment across the island of Ireland.

Every year, over 4,500 people in Ireland die prematurely from the effects of tobacco-related disease, while another 2,000 people die from smoking annually in Northern Ireland. Tobacco use causes devastating harm across the island of Ireland, regardless of jurisdiction or background. 

The Irish Cancer Society, as members of the Smokefree Generation Alliance, believes there is a unique opportunity to rid tobacco harm from our society and truly create a smoke-free future. Realising this future would be utterly transformational for public health and healthcare across this island. 

As a national cancer charity, we are calling on the Irish Government to begin planning for this legislation.

Attendees at the launch heard from a range of speakers including Deputy Colm Burke and Deputy Malcolm Byrne on the political significance of a smokefree generation; Dr Helen McAvoy from the Institute of Public Health on the all-island nature of the legislation; Dr Paul Kavanagh of the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland, and Dr Emmet O’Brien, chair of ASH Ireland, Council of the Irish Heart Foundation, on the health impact of such legislation; and Mark Murphy of the Irish Heart Foundation who presented the members of the Smokefree Generation Alliance. 

If your organisation is interested in joining the Smokefree Generation Alliance, please email smokefreegenerationalliance@gmail.com