Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Tobacco Control Plan

16 November 2021 · 7 other contributors · 13,008 words

Opened by Bob Blackman Con Harrow East

Responding minister: Maggie Throup

NHS

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Bob Blackman raised concerns about tobacco control plan in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Government aims for England to be smoke free by 2030 with a new plan focusing on health disparities.
  • The UK is recognised as a world leader in tobacco control with interventions like standardised packaging.
  • Around 6 million smokers remain in England despite record low smoking rates of just under 14%.

Key requests to Government

I ask the Minister to set out a timeline for publishing the next tobacco control plan and commit to considering amendments to the Health and Care Bill that would strengthen regulations on tobacco marketing, provide funding, and raise the age of sale from 18 to 21. Additionally, I urge the Government to explore a 'polluter pays' levy on tobacco manufacturers to fund tobacco control measures. Will the Minister say how much longer we will have to wait for the Government to start taking action towards the smoke-free 2030 ambition? The APPG's amendments are needed now and not waiting for further research or evidence should delay their implementation.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Bob Blackman Con Harrow East

I am concerned about the high smoking rates and related health impacts in my constituency, with over one in ten people still smoking and smoking causing around 250 deaths annually. The APPG's report on recommendations for a tobacco control plan was endorsed by more than 50 organisations, yet there is no published plan despite promises. Inequalities in smoking rates have grown recently, and the current rate of decline will not meet the target to reduce smoking by two-thirds by 2030. Two years after the Government's ambition to make England smoke-free by 2030, projections show they will miss this target. Despite a promise for further action on tobacco, no new tobacco control plan has been published yet. The Health and Care Bill fails to mention tobacco or smoking despite my best efforts in Committee to table amendments based on the APPG's recommendations. These include a 'polluter pays' levy, health warnings on cigarettes, inside packaging and closing loopholes allowing e-cigarettes to be marketed at children.

Other contributors (7)
  • Alex Norris Lab Co-op Nottingham North and Kimberley

    Alex Norris praised the leadership of Bob Blackman on tobacco control, highlighting the importance of cross-party support. He discussed the need for a tobacco control plan focusing on improving public health outcomes, addressing inequalities in smoking rates across different occupational groups. Norris also raised concerns about cuts to public health funding and suggested promoting innovative solutions such as vaping as quit aids while closing loopholes in existing regulations.

  • Andrew Lewer Con Northampton South

    Mr Andrew Lewer thanked his hon. Friend for securing the debate and expressed concerns about public misconceptions regarding vaping's harmfulness, citing a statistic that 53% of smokers believe vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking. He urged the Government to tackle these misconceptions by promoting health claims and messaging about switching from smoking to vaping.

  • Andrew Murrison Con South West Wiltshire

    Suggests setting the toll of tobacco-related deaths against the impact of covid restrictions, arguing that reducing smoking would be less intrusive on liberties and have a greater health benefit.

  • Charles Walker Con Erith and Crayford

    Shares personal experience with tobacco-related death in family and advocates for moving smokers to less harmful nicotine products to reduce harm more rapidly. As we have heard, addictions are very powerful, and if we want to get to a smoke-free 2030, we need to break the link between a nicotine fix and smoking lit tobacco.

  • Ian Paisley Jnr DUP North Antrim

    Opposes punitive taxation, citing evidence that it could lead to increased criminality due to the shift towards smuggled tobacco products instead of paying high taxes on taxable products. Paisley declared his interest in the tobacco industry, highlighting the need for an evidence-based approach to smoking cessation. He stressed that punitive taxation does not work and criminality must be addressed. He proposed focusing on education, new product development, and enforcement against illegal sales. He also noted the over £1 billion of illicit cigarette sales annually, suggesting that proper enforcement could recover lost revenue. Will the Minister give way?

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Mr Shannon welcomed the new Public Health Minister and highlighted the importance of smoking being a priority. He discussed Northern Ireland's progress in tobacco control, noting that only one target had been met despite overall smoking rates remaining at 17%, with manual workers still having high smoking rates at 27%. Concerns were raised about smoking among pregnant women (14%) and children taking up smoking daily (10). Shannon advocated for addressing disadvantaged communities and reducing tobacco disparity between factory-made cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. He also called for a licensing scheme for tobacco retailers to tackle illegal trade.

  • Mark Pawsey Con Rugby

    Mark Pawsey praised the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health, chaired by Bob Blackman. He highlighted the benefits of vaping in helping people quit smoking and urged the recognition of relative risk and harm reduction products. He expressed concern over messages that treat vaping as smoking equally harmful, noting that 3.3 million vapers exist in the UK, with 1.8 million being ex-smokers. Pawsey called for a multi-category approach to encourage switching to less harmful alternatives and emphasised the importance of maintaining the UK's leadership role in tobacco harm reduction.

Government Response

Maggie Throup

The UK is recognised as a world leader on tobacco control due to interventions like standardised packaging and protection from second-hand smoke, leading to record low smoking rates of just under 14%. Despite this success, there are still around 6 million smokers in England. The Government set the ambition for England to be smoke free by 2030 with a new plan focusing on health disparities. This includes exploring regulatory proposals and further research, addressing concerns like tobacco taxation and raising the smoking age from 18 to 21. The minister also highlighted the role of e-cigarettes as a quitting tool while protecting non-smokers, and discussed the impact of the pandemic on health disparities.

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