MPs vote in favour of Tobacco Bill

Yesterday, MPs voted in favour of raising the age of sale of cigarettes in the second reading of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill. The vote came after MPs debated the legislation, with some raising concerns about freedom of choice.

Alice Wiseman, ADPH Vice President, said:

“This is the single most important piece of health legislation in a generation, but it is not a done deal. The tobacco industry will be working hard to convince MPs that this legislation is not required so it is imperative that we keep the facts at the forefront of the conversation. Smoking kills tens of thousands of people in the UK every year, causes multiple illnesses and diseases, and costs billions of pounds in health and social care, and lost productivity.

“Some MPs will undoubtedly be worried about accusations of ‘nanny statism’ but far from being a free choice, most people start smoking when they are young, become addicted quickly and then find it incredibly hard to quit. Raising the age of sale will protect children and young people from ever becoming addicted in the first place, save countless lives, improve everyone’s health and wellbeing and make the country a more productive, profitable place to live.

“Vaping can be an effective tool for people trying to quit so it is critical that vapes remain available. However, people who don’t smoke shouldn’t vape and marketing vapes to children and young people is absolutely unacceptable.”

Our support for the Bill got widespread media coverage, and Alice was interviewed on the Sky News Daily Podcast.