U.K. votes on ‘smoke-free generation,’ conservatives decry ‘nanny state’

LONDON — Britain is poised to launch a world-leading project to create a “smoke-free generation” by banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born in 2009 or later.Older smokers would be allowed to continue to buy tobacco until they quit — or die. But the legislation would raise the legal age for purchase each year, so that the prohibition would follow younger people indefinitely.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — who does not drink alcohol or smoke, and who is reported to fast one day a week — has led the fight, arguing that smoking kills tens of thousands of people each year, with…