Parliament Matters
Andrew Rosindell is concerned about the impact of vape restrictions while Lord Weir heard how the government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill will reduce cardiovascular disease
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by Dave Cross
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In this latest trip to the Houses of Parliament, the Conservative’s Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary, Andrew Rosindell, was concerned about the potential impact of the government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill on smoking cessation. In The Other Place, the DUP’s Lord Weir of Ballyholme wanted to know about incidents of cardiovascular disease.
Andrew Rosindell, Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what assessment has been made of the potential impact of a ban on the marketing and advertising of e-cigarette and vaping products, non-medically licensed nicotine products and heated tobacco products on the number of adults switching from cigarettes to alternatives.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, Ashley Dalton, told him: “The health advice is clear that vaping is only recommended for adult smokers who wish to quit smoking. Youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years with one in four children aged between 11 and 15 years old having tried vaping in 2023. It is unacceptable that vapes are deliberately promoted and advertised to children, and this must be stopped to prevent future generations from being hooked on nicotine.
“The Government has published a thorough impact assessment of the measures included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including the prohibition on the advertising of vaping products and nicotine products.
“Public health messaging and campaigns will continue to support the promotion of vapes as a quit aid for smokers, as outlined on the Better Health and National Health Service websites. Additionally, the Government is committed to supporting smokers to quit, through a range of services. We are investing an additional £70 million in 2025/26 for local Stop Smoking Services in England and are working to ensure all NHS hospitals offer ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation purposes.
“All tobacco products are harmful to health. There is evidence of toxicity from heated tobacco in laboratory studies. The aerosol generated by heated tobacco also contains carcinogens, and there will be a risk to the health of anyone using these products.
“The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products, and that prohibition applies to tobacco products intended to be smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed. It is the Department’s view that the legislation applies to any tobacco product, regardless of when it was developed, and that heated tobacco products and the heating device to be used with it are caught under this legislation.”
The constant sharing of misinformation by MPs during the committee stage of the Bill demonstrated the government isn’t prepared to consider that the legislation will deter smokers from vaping.
In the House of Lords, Lord Weir of Ballyholme asked the Government how many hospital admissions for preventable cardiovascular disease there have been in each of the past three years.
Baroness Merron, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, told him: “The Department does not hold data on the number of admissions for cardiovascular disease which are preventable. However, we know that up to 70% of cardiovascular disease is preventable and linked to behavioural, metabolic, and environmental risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, living with obesity, and air pollution.
“The Government is tackling the root cause of preventable heart disease and stroke through the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, implementing advertising regulations for less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, and giving councils stronger, clearer powers to block the development of new fast-food shops near schools.”
With the price of eliquid set to soar, a ban on popular single-use products, and further restrictions promised on flavours, branding, display and advertising, it is difficult to believe this won’t see ex-smokers returning to tobacco and current smokers staying with tobacco products.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave 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.
