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A woman who smoked for 30 years before being diagnosed with lung cancer says phasing out tobacco will ensure her grandchildren do not "get hooked like I did". The Tobacco and Vapes Bill - which is expected to receive Royal Assent this week - will create the UK's first "smoke-free generation". It states that the age of sale of tobacco, currently 18, will rise by one year every year from 2027.

This means no one born on or after 1 January 2009 will ever be legally sold it. Susie Hartley, 75, started smoking as a teenager, long before she understood the dangers. She said: "Once I was hooked, it was too late - I went on to smoke for 30 years. Although both of my parents died of cancer, I still thought it was something that happens to other people, not me.

"I was still smoking 10 to 12 cigarettes a day until around five years before my lung cancer diagnosis."

Susie, of Barnet in north London, was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer after she developed a persistent cough in 2017.

She was invited to join Cancer Research UK's TRACERx study, which has followed hundreds of patients to learn how the disease changes, spreads and survives over time.

Susie had surgery to remove part of her right lung and lymph nodes, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Now fully recovered, she is passionate about raising awareness of the damage smoking can cause.

The Bill will also give ministers new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including their flavours and packaging.

Grandmother-of-two Susie, who lives with her husband Tony and their dog Barkley, said she will be "absolutely delighted" to see the law change.

She added: "As a child, I was sent to the shops to buy cigarettes for my dad. Thanks to this law, the next generation - including my grandsons - won't be allowed to be sold tobacco products and get hooked in the way that I did.

"I hope this means they grow up in a world where they're horrified by the thought of smoking.

"I'm lucky to be alive today because of the care that I received. It's wonderful to know that millions of young people will now grow up protected from the harms of tobacco addiction.

"I also hope that the government takes action to support people - like me - who want to quit but find it incredibly tough to do so."

Cancer Research UK campaigned for the creation of a smoke-free generation and warned for years that there is no safe way to use tobacco.

Writing for the Express, the charity's chief executive Michelle Mitchell said the Bill "marks a turning point, one that will help protect our children from deadly addiction, disease and early deaths".

She also urges the Government to support the 5.3 million people who still smoke, including those "trapped by tobacco addiction".

Health Secretary Wes Streeting last week said the law clearing Parliament was a "historic moment for the nation's health".

He added: "Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm.

"Prevention is better than cure - this reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain."

For decades, smoking has taken a devastating toll on society. In the last 10 years, it has caused nearly 400,000 cancer deaths in the UK - stealing mothers, fathers and grandparents from their families.

The harm caused by cigarettes has filled hospital wards, drained millions from the NHS, and impacted negatively on our economic growth.

With the Tobacco and Vapes Bill set to become law, that story begins to change. This marks a turning point, one that will help protect our children from deadly addiction, disease and early deaths.

For me, this is personal. I think about my son, aged 16. Thanks to this new world-leading law, he will never legally be sold tobacco in the UK. Neither will his friends or peers, including your children, nieces or nephews.

An entire generation could be shielded from deadly addiction, helping to prevent millions of people and their loved ones from facing the agony of a cancer diagnosis.

This victory has been hard-won. For nearly 80 years, ever since Cancer Research UK first proved the link between tobacco and cancer, we have battled a tobacco industry which time and time again protected its profits, even as the human cost became undeniable.

This time, public health - not Big Tobacco - has won. And while future generations will be protected, we cannot forget that many people today are still trapped by tobacco addiction.

Around 5.3 million people in the UK currently smoke. They deserve proper, long-term support to quit for good, and the UK Government must not step back from funding smoking cessation support that saves lives.

We cannot undo the heartbreak that tobacco has already caused. But now we're drawing a line.

If we protect this law, we could set the country on a path to ending the leading cause of cancer in the UK, helping to spare our children from all the suffering that this toxic product brings.

- Michelle Mitchell is chief executive of Cancer Research UK