Wes Streeting suggests that the sale of cigarettes could be phased out by labour.

If Labor wins the next election, it could ban cigarette sales Wes StreetingHe said.

Shadow health secretary Laura Kuenssberg spoke to BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg and said that the move could help “get NHS on track”.

He said that one of the recommendations made by the government in a review was to gradually eliminate the sale and distribution of cigarettes. “We will consult about that and many other measures.”

New Zealand has recently passed a new law that prohibits the sale of tobacco to anyone born after January 1, 2009.

This means that the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes will continue to rise.

Streeting stated that Labor was “really curious about” what the electorate thought and was looking to New Zealand for “to see how it works”.

He said, “If we want the NHS to get back on track,” he added.

“What the government has done to the NHS is a disgrace. It will take time to fix it and radical new thinking and that is what the Labor Party is all about.”

Action on Smoking and Ash, a health charity, said that Streeting was “absolutely correct” to be focused on improving public health.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Arnott Consulting, stated that smoking is a major cause and effect of premature death and diseases and is responsible for half of the difference in life expectancy between the wealthy and the poor.

Ash supports consultation regarding raising the selling age and how to do it.

“New Zealand’s option, while one, is easier to implement and supported by most of the public and tobacco retailers. It is to raise the selling price to 21. Both options should be discussed.”

Ash estimates smoking costs the NHS £2.4 billion and another £1.2 billion for social care.