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5th November 2024
The Government has introduced ‘historic’ legislation to phase out smoking among young people, extend the smoking ban to outdoor spaces, and clamp down on vaping.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced in Parliament, will ‘create a smokefree generation’ by banning the sale of tobacco products across the UK to anyone aged 15 or younger this year.
Legislation for this same ban was first introduced under the previous Conservative Government but did not progress after the election was called, with the new Labour Government confirming over the summer that it will proceed with similar laws including new additions to strengthen the bill.
As part of the new bill, the Government will ‘be given powers’ to extend the current indoor smoking ban to specified outdoor spaces, which could include children’s playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals, subject to consultation.
However, the announcement confirmed that the Government has decided against pursuing plans floated earlier this year to ban smoking in outdoor hospitality areas including nightclubs and sports venues,
To tackle vaping, the new legislation will ban advertising and sponsorship of vape products, and give the Government powers to ‘restrict flavours, display and packaging’.
This follows a recently-announced ban on disposable vapes, which will come into force from June next year under separate laws.
The Government is particularly focused on preventing youth vaping, with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) citing figures showing that a quarter of 11- to 15-year-olds tried vaping in 2023.
Current restrictions on smoke-free areas may also be extended to become ‘vape free’, with a focus on areas where there are children and young adults.
The new legislation will allow the Government to introduce a licensing scheme to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as ‘on the spot fines’ of £200 for retailers found to be selling these products to people underage.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said the Government is taking ‘bold action’ to create a smoke free generation, to ‘clamp down’ on vaping, and to protect children from the ‘harms of second-hand smoke’.
He added: ‘This historic legislation will save thousands of lives and protect the NHS. By building a healthy society, we will also help to build a healthy economy, with fewer people off work sick.’
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said that a ‘smokefree country’ would prevent disease, disability and premature deaths for future generations.
He continued: ‘The rising numbers of children vaping is a major concern and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help prevent marketing vapes to children, which is utterly unacceptable.
‘This is a major piece of legislation which if passed will have a positive and lasting impact on the health of the nation.’
The BMA ‘welcomed’ the new measures on smoking and vaping, in response to the bill’s introduction in Parliament, following its calls for a ban on disposable and non-tobacco flavoured vapes in August.
Chair of the union’s Board of Science Professor David Strain said the new measures are a ‘significant step forward’ to creating healthier environments for the populations while also reducing the burden on the NHS.
He added: ‘But we also need to see the detail of the Government’s consultations on these measures to make sure they can, in reality, deliver what Ministers are promising they can and alongside these new measures, there is an urgent need for investment in the smoking cessation services to help smokers quit.
‘Bringing in more stringent rules to stop people smoking and vaping will lead to a healthier population but for those who are still smoking, many will need support to stop and that means greater investment in the services and staff to give that support.’
Professor Lion Shahab, director of the University College London tobacco and alcohol research group, said the bill includes ‘a number of world-leading measures’, highlighting in particular the ban on smoking for future generations.
‘If parliament passes this new bill, it would put the UK at the very forefront of the fight to eradicate one of the most harmful inventions of modern times and protect the future of the next generation to allow them to live a full life, unencumbered by entirely preventable cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease,’ he said.
But on vaping, he said that ‘legislation to protect youth has to be balanced with the need to support smokers to quit, including with e-cigarettes’, and that the Government must ‘monitor unintended consequences’ of the bill.
A version of this article was originally published by our sister publication Pulse.
30th August 2024
The British Medical Association (BMA) has urged the Government to ban all disposable and non-tobacco flavoured vapes in a bid to stop the ‘epidemic’ of vaping.
A new report by the doctors’ union has set out a series of ‘bold actions’ for the Government to take to ‘stem the trend of increased vaping’, particularly among children and young people.
The new Labour Government confirmed last month that it will introduce laws to clamp down on vaping with a commitment to carry forward the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which originated during Rishi Sunak’s time as Prime Minister.
Under the new legislation there would be ‘limits’ on the sale and marketing of vapes, including a restriction on vape flavours, packaging and points of sale.
However, the BMA said that this bill had not been ‘carried forward into the new parliamentary session’ and that ‘so far there are no details of any measures that will be taken’.
The BMA’s tobacco report therefore sets out a ‘blueprint for what legislation should include to tackle rising vape use’, and it suggests that ‘one of the most dominant factors influencing this rise is the widespread availability of disposable vapes’.
According to the charity Action on Smoking and Health, 7.6% of 11- to 17-year-olds are now vaping regularly or occasionally, compared to 1.3% in 2014.
The doctors’ union called on the Government to ban disposable vapes ‘on the grounds of disproportionate and harmful use by children and young people and their adverse impact on the environment’.
Other recommendations set out in the report included:
The report recognised that vapes can be useful for people trying to quit smoking cigarettes, but pointed out that they are a ‘less dangerous rather than risk-free alternative’.
Nicotine addiction caused by vaping could lead to health problems such as high blood pressure and increased risk of COPD, according to the report.
BMA public health medicine committee chair Dr Penelope Toff said the new Government ‘must now ensure’ the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill are ‘carried through into legislation’, and ‘would do well to go even further’.
She continued: ‘While this Government has rightly pledged to tackle smoking and vaping, the test will be in how it acts.
‘As we await details, we have put together this blueprint of the actions that are crucial right now to stop this serious public health threat in its tracks.’
Professor David Strain, chair of the BMA’s board of science, said vape usage has ‘risen hugely in the last decade’ and there is now a ‘vaping epidemic’.
He said: ‘As a doctor, I understand the role vapes can play in helping people to stop smoking, but they have no rightful place in our children and young people’s lives and when it comes to protecting their health, we cannot afford to gamble.
‘An industry so obviously targeting children with colours, flavours and branding, to push a product that can lead to nicotine addiction and potential further harms cannot be allowed to happen any longer.’
In response to the report, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said that the marketing of vapes to children is ‘utterly unacceptable’.
They continued: ‘Vapes can be an effective way for adult smokers to quit, but we have always been clear that children and adult non-smokers should never vape.
‘The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes from deliberately being branded and advertised to appeal to children, including by regulating flavours, packaging and changing how and where they are displayed in shops.’
A version of this article was originally published by our sister publication Pulse.
9th February 2024
There is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of novel nicotine and tobacco products as a ‘harm reduction’ strategy to reduce smoking and aid quitting.
This is according to an updated position statement from the European Respiratory Society (ERS), which states that such harm reduction claims are ‘simply exploited by the tobacco industry for financial gain’.
Since its previous statement on this topic was issued in 2019, evidence has increasingly shown legitimate concern around the long-term health risks of novel products such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches, the ERS said.
‘ERS maintains a firm position that all nicotine and tobacco products are highly addictive and harmful, and that quitting smoking entirely is still the best option,’ it added.
Across eight position statements, the ERS details this increasing evidence and suggests that novel tobacco and nicotine products do not help existing smokers to quit, are harmful to public health and constitute gateways towards nicotine addiction and the initiation of smoking among youth.
This can lead to much greater negative effect on a population level, it said.
And it encouraged the use of evidence-based interventions, such as nicotine replacement therapy or tobacco cessation medications when cessation aids are required.
‘Reducing tobacco use and protecting youth from addiction to emerging products that may normalise tobacco use should be a top priority,’ the ERS concluded.
Referring to the EU’s priority of a tobacco-free generation by 2040, the ERS added that it ‘does not recommend any lung-damaging products and cannot recommend harm reduction as a population-based strategy to reduce smoking and aid quitting’.
Commenting on the revised position statement, Dr Filippos Filippidis, chair of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee, said: ‘The argument that novel tobacco products contribute to “harm reduction” lacks sufficient independent evidence. Their potential lung damaging effects, and uptake amongst young people, means that ERS cannot support novel tobacco products and “harm reduction” as a population-based strategy.’
This updated ERS position statement on novel tobacco and nicotine products comes as the UK Government announced disposable vapes and alternatives such as nicotine pouches are to be banned.
The planned measures follow a consultation on smoking and vaping launched in October 2023, and are designed to ‘tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health’.
As part of the package announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, new powers will be introduced to restrict flavours specifically marketed at children and to ensure that manufacturers produce plain and less visually appealing packaging.
These powers will also allow the Government to change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them, such as sweets.
Furthermore, the crackdown on underage sales will see the introduction of a new set of fines to shops in England and Wales selling vapes illegally to children, and trading standards officers will be empowered to act ‘on the spot’ to tackle underage sales.
The number of children using vapes in the UK in the past three years has tripled. Use among younger children is also rising, according to the figures, with 9% of 11- to 15-year-olds now using vapes.
Commenting that ‘marketing vapes to children is not acceptable‘, Mr Sunak said: ‘Alongside our commitment to stop children who turn 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, these changes will leave a lasting legacy by protecting our children’s health for the long term.’
13th October 2023
The UK Government has launched a public consultation on its plans to create a smoke-free generation at the same time as introducing measures to tackle vaping in teenagers.
It follows proposals announced earlier this month by the Prime Minister that it will become illegal for people born in or after 2009 to buy tobacco products.
Under the plans, the law will stop children turning 14 or younger this year from ever legally being sold tobacco products, raising the smoking age by a year each year until it applies to the whole population.
Several options for cracking down on youth vaping are also included in the consultation after figures form 2023 suggest one in five children has tried it.
Measures will need to balance the need to make vapes available to current adult smokers to help them quit while reducing access and appeal for children and teenagers, the consultation document states.
Possible changes in law range from limits on how vape flavours are described to restrictions on ingredients or flavours, such as tobacco, mint or fruit flavours only.
The public is also being asked for views on regulating displays in shops to being behind the counter but on display or hidden, as with current rules on tobacco products.
Various options for branding and presentation are being considered including banning the use of cartoons, animals and other child-friendly imaging to more stringent restrictions on imagery and colouring used in the packaging.
Questions on whether disposable vapes should be banned are also included in the consultation, and views are also being sought on the cost of vapes compared to tobacco products.
Currently 12.9% of people in the UK are smokers. In setting out the proposals, the Government said no other consumer product kills up to two-thirds of users.
It added that in England, almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital because of smoking, and up to 75,000 GP appointments could be attributed to smoking each month. The consultation also covers Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Last year a damning review led by Dr Javed Khan into the Government’s ambition to make England smoke-free by 2030 backed England to follow in the footsteps of New Zealand, and recommended ‘increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no one can buy a tobacco product in this country’.
Last month, researchers declared that nicotine vaping is the most effective among widely available smoking cessation aids.
Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘There has been a surge in vaping amongst children, which is why we’re taking action to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes. Vapes should never be used by children and we’re committed to reversing this trend.
‘We also need to take bold action to protect future generations from the harms of smoking addiction, which damages health at every stage of life and costs the economy billions.’
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England said: ‘Ensuring people do not become addicted to smoking, and helping them overcome addiction to stop smoking are two the best interventions for health.
‘Vaping is less dangerous than smoking but still has risks and can cause addiction. Vaping can be useful for smokers to quit, but should not be marketed to non-smokers and marketing them to children is utterly unacceptable.’
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said the charity welcomed the consultation as it is clear more must be done urgently to stop children accessing vapes.
‘Disposable vapes at their current pocket money prices, with cartoons and bubble-gum flavour options, are far too attractive and easy for children to access,’ she said.
The public consultation is open until 6 December.
A version of this story was originally published by our sister publication Pulse.
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