All Party Group calls on government to listen to the voters and make Big Tobacco pay to deliver a Smokefree 2030

In a Westminster Hall debate starting at 930am on the 20th June [1] the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health will call on the Government to listen to the voters and make Big Tobacco pay to deliver a Smokefree 2030. Three quarters of adults support the government’s smokefree 2030 ambition,[2] but analysis by Cancer Research UK shows that on current trends England won’t be smokefree until 2039.[3]

Bob Blackman MP (Chairman of the APPG, Harrow East, Conservative) will tell parliament:

“The measures recently put forward by the government to achieve a smokefree 2030 are welcome, but insufficiently ambitious, providing only a quarter of the funding called for by the Government’s own independent review last year. Meanwhile Big Tobacco continues to make extreme profits selling highly addictive, lethal products. A levy on the industry is popular, feasible and supported by voters of all political persuasions as well as the majority of tobacco retailers.[4] The manufacturers have the money, they should be made to pay to end the epidemic.”

Three quarters (77%) of the public support making tobacco manufacturers pay, including those voting Conservative (75%), Labour (82%) and Liberal Democrat (87%) at the last general election, with fewer than one in ten opposed.[2]

There is overwhelming public support, and little opposition, for a wide range of policies, including licences for businesses selling tobacco (83%), putting health warnings on cigarettes (66% support 10% oppose) and banning smoking in all cars (66% support, 16% oppose). Nearly two thirds (64%) support raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 (65% Conservative, 66% Labour and 67% Liberal Democrat voters surveyed).

There are high levels of support for tougher vaping regulations, with three quarters of the public supporting banning names of sweets, cartoons and bright colours on e-cigarettes, and the same proportion supporting banning, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes at point-of-sale (at the till, in stores and as people enter shops).

The co-sponsor of the debate, Mary Kelly Foy MP (Vice Chair of the APPG, City of Durham, Labour) will say:

“Last year I tabled amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill which would have laid the foundations for the comprehensive tobacco control plan the government committed to deliver.[6] Despite strong cross party support, the Government refused to accept the amendments. Recent announcements recognise the need to act on vaping, but not for sustainable funding or tougher regulation on smoking too. [7] [8] This piecemeal approach is not good enough, a comprehensive Tobacco Control Plan with ambition, scope and funding is essential to turbocharge our progress towards a smokefree 2030, while curbing the youth vaping epidemic.”

ENDS

Notes to the Editor

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health is a cross-party group of Peers and MPs which was founded in 1976 and is currently chaired by Bob Blackman MP.

The secretariat of the group is provided by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) a health charity working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco use, which receives funding for its programme of work from Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Contact: press@ash.org.uk

References

[1] Westminster Hall debate: Smokefree 2030 Target. 9.30am Tuesday 21st June 2023.

[2] All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 10123 adults in England and 12271 in Great Britain. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22/02/2023 - 15/03/2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults. (aged 18+). Data are weighted by age, gender, region, education status, social grade, and ethnicity. Data are not controlled or weighted by past vote or political affiliation.

[3] Cancer Intelligence Team, Cancer Research UK. Smoking prevalence projections for England, based on data to 2021. Published December 2022.

[4] Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). Regulation is not a dirty word: Local retailers’ views of proposals for new tobacco laws. November 2022.

[5] The Khan review: making smoking obsolete. Independent review by Dr Javed Khan OBE into the government’s ambition to make England smokefree by 2030. Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Published 9 June 2022

[6] UK parliament. Smoking. Written Question for Department of Health and Social Care. UIN 122663, answered 9 December 2020.

[7] UK Parliament. Achieving Smokefree 2030: cutting smoking and stopping kids vaping. Statement UIN HLWS703. 17 April 2023.

[8] No more free vapes for kids. Government takes steps to crack down on rogue firms targeting children with free samples. Department of Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, and Neil O'Brien MP. Published 30 May 2023.