Tobacco firms lobbying MPs to derail smoking phase-out, charity warns

After the vote Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Parliament has today begun the process of consigning smoking to the ‘ash heap’ of history.

Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said she was not surprised UK MPs and peers were being lobbied over the legislation, particularly given the global impact it could have on the tobacco industry.

Vaping has risen rapidly over the past decade to reach record levels in Great Britain with an estimated 4.3 million people who are regular vapers, according to data published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

An estimated 4.3 million people are using e-cigarettes according to 2022 findings, up from about 800,000 a decade ago in what Action on Smoking and Health, which produced the report, called a “vaping revolution”. Hazel Cheeseman, ASH Deputy Chief Executive, said to the Guardian that the increase in smokers switching to vaping was “great news”. “They can be lifesaving tools for those struggling to quit. At the same time, we can’t rely on vaping to fully solve the problem of smoking. We must address the recent increase in youth vaping and put in place wider efforts to address smoking as vaping won’t work for everyone. The time for government action is now,” she said.

TikTok is being urged by ASH to take a "responsible approach" towards content relating to vapes and e-cigarettes on the platform.

Watch ASH Deputy CEO Hazel Cheeseman speak to ITV News on whether social media platform TikTok is promoting vaping to under-18s

NHS’s Quit4Life scheme has been giving out £25 vaping vouchers in Hampshire since 2018. Hazel Cheeseman, of Action on Smoking and Health, said she would welcome many more schemes being established around the country”, but added that “vapes are important but not sufficient to help secure the government’s vision of a smoke-free country by 2030.”

“The glamorous promotion of vaping on social media is completely inappropriate and social media platforms should take responsibility,” says Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH to the Telegraph. The Khan review suggested that £15 million should be invested in enforcement, but “online platforms like TikTok don’t need to wait, they must act now”, Arnott says.

Ahead of the publication of Javed Khan’s independent review, Deborah Arnott, chief executive of anti-smoking group ASH tells the Telegraph it is imperative that the ‘carrot’ element of Khan’s reforms are fully-funded. “The tobacco control budget has been cut by a third since 2015. It doesn’t make any sense. To achieve a smokefree 2030 requires a massive increase in the rate of decline,” she says. “We were delighted when the Government announced the smoke-free 2030 target [...] But nearly three years have passed and there’s still no plan, no investment and, on current trends, no chance of success.”

CEO of ASH, Deborah Arnott, discusses the Government's 2030 smokefree target