The Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, Steve Brine MP, has backed a Bill which would make it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009.
On Tuesday 16th April MPs voted in favour of the Smoking of Vapes Bill, bringing the UK closer to creating the first smokefree generation.
Responsible for around 80,000 deaths annually, smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer and costs the NHS and economy an estimated £17 billion a year - far more than the £10 billion annual revenue from tobacco taxation.
Speaking ahead of the vote, Steve Brine said: ““It is beyond reason that we allow the legal sale of products that are known to kill when used correctly. Tens of thousands of lives lost to cancer, heart disease and strokes could be saved by backing this legislation.”
During the debate in the House of Commons, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told MPs "there is no liberty in addiction" as she defended the plans. The Bill passed by 383 votes to 67.
There are still several more steps needed before it becomes law, such as votes in the House of Lords, but it is possible that the bill could now become law before the general election, expected in the second half of 2024.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Steve spoke about the overwhelming support his constituents in Winchester and Chandler’s Ford have for the legislation, stating “They’re not alone of course”, with the Government highlighting repeated national surveys which show more than two-thirds of adults in UK support the Bill.
Mr Brine concluded his speech saying : “I have always believed that in a publicly funded healthcare system we have a right – and indeed a responsibility – to act on public health because it becomes everyone’s problem when we don’t.”
Sending a message to his dissenting Parliamentary colleagues, he said: “If you’re a Conservative and a ‘smaller state’ is your thing, although I never can pinpoint which part of the state that argument wants to shrink in practice, you should be right behind a healthier society, one that needs the state less, relies on the state less and costs the state less.”
The Bill also reaffirms the Government’s commitment to tackle youth vaping, with the Chair of the Health Committee welcoming the move: “This Bill’s provisions to stop youth vaping are important to get right and I commend the Government for taking up the recommendation of my Committee, and many others, to target single-use vapes and ban them.”
Steve added: “But more comprehensive measures are essential. We see the cynical marketing at young adults, teenagers and pre-teen children with vapes sold as a lifestyle product. The long-term effects of vaping are simply not known. We must allocate and apply resources to finding out what effects vaping in all its forms is likely to have long term on health and well-being if we are to prevent further pressures on our overburdened NHS.”
The Smoking and Vapes Bill will now pass through a Committee stage in the House of Commons with rigorous scrutiny, before returning to the main Chamber for a third reading.
Steve Brine discussed his view on the Bill on the latest episode of Prevention is the new cure.
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