ASH: Big T Must Pay

With smoking still claiming 74,000 lives annually and costing England a staggering £43.7 billion a year, the report – A Roadmap to a Smokefree Country - sets out with (what ASH calls) “an ambitious plan” to cut the number of smokers by 2 million within this Parliament “and put the UK on track for a smokefree future”.

The charity, which acts as the secretariat for the committee, continues: “Building on the progress of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will phase out the sale of tobacco, protecting children from getting addicted to smoking, the report outlines a comprehensive roadmap to support the UK’s 6 million smokers in quitting. At its core is a proposed ‘polluter pays’ levy, which would require Big Tobacco – who bring in a staggering estimated £900 million in annual profits – to contribute £700 million annually to fund initiatives that reduce smoking rates and reduce the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest as well as easing the financial burden on taxpayers. The amount required from Big Tobacco would taper as tobacco consumption falls.

“Other key recommendations include swift action to curb youth vaping by using new powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to restrict marketing of vapes in ways that appeal to children and a call to regulate all tobacco products as strictly as cigarette laws.”

Mary Foy MP, Co-Chair of the APPG says: “The UK is set to introduce world-leading new laws that will protect future generations from the enormous harms of smoking, but we cannot ignore the millions of people still trapped by addiction. The only people who benefit from smoking is the tobacco industry who generate huge profits from peddling misery and illness. It’s time for them to pay for the damage they cause.”

Bob Blackman MP, Co-Chair of the APPG member, commented: "Smoking remains the number one cause of preventable death, costing lives and draining public finances. No government can afford to overlook the devastating impact of smoking on our economy and the NHS. This Report sets out a comprehensive plan that accelerate our progress to a smokefree UK. Further delay comes at too great a cost."

Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, who contributed the foreword to the report added: “Tackling smoking can be a blueprint for broader prevention efforts – combining national legislation with local support to drive real change. With the right approach, this Government now has the chance to achieve what once seemed impossible: a society free from the harms of tobacco. And the chance to create a nation of people who can live longer and healthier lives, by preventing, diagnosing and treating illnesses earlier.”

ASH calls on the government to:

• Introduce urgent regulation on advertising, packaging, and flavour descriptors to protect children
• Ensure nicotine pouches are appropriately regulated to limit their appeal to children and protect customers
• Hold a wide evidence-based consultation on the proposed extension of vape free places
• Continue to fund the anti-vape, evidence denying WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.