MPs are set to vote on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill today, which the health secretary calls an “urgent intervention” to help children “avoid a life imprisoned by addiction”.
The proposed law looks to clamp down on the sale and advertising of vapes to young people, as well as provide more funding for stop-smoking services.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the amount of children vaping “is growing at an alarming rate and without urgent intervention, we’re going to have a generation of children with long-term addiction”.
“It is unacceptable that these harmful products are being deliberately targeted at children with brightly coloured packaging and flavours like ‘gummy bear’ and ‘rainbow burst’,” he added.
“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides the protection that children and young people need to avoid a life imprisoned by addiction.
“That’s why it’s so incredibly important it is voted through.”
What does the bill include?
A total ban on vape advertising and sponsorship will be brought in should the bill pass, with a possible ban on the sale of sweet vape flavours also on the table subject to consultation.
Anyone born after 1 January 2009 will also be prevented from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.
The sale of all vaping and nicotine products to those under 18 years old – including nicotine pouches and non-nicotine vapes – would also be banned.
Powers would also be provided to councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products.
It would also include on-the-spot fines of £200 for any shopkeepers found to be selling to those underage, and provide stop smoking services with £70m in funding.
Read more:
Expect the assisted dying debate to get even louder
Starmer rules out another general election
Another proposed stop-smoking measure would see hospitals asked to talk about smoking with patients while delivering routine care, “making every clinical consultation count”.
Around £10m will also be given to Trading Standards – which seized more than a million illegal vapes in 2023/24, according to National Trading Standards data – to crack down on illegal trade.
No ban on smoking in pub gardens
The bill would also give the government power to extend the indoor smoking ban to outdoor spaces – with children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals all being considered in England.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said in August that the government was considering a more expansive ban on outdoor smoking – including in pub gardens and outdoor restaurants.
The prime minister said at the time it was aimed at reducing the 80,000 preventable deaths from smoking in the UK each year, but it caused an outcry within the hospitality industry.
However, earlier this month Mr Streeting confirmed to Sky News that the government would not go ahead with plans to ban outdoor smoking and vaping in pub gardens.
Separate environmental legislation to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes will be introduced by the summer of next year.
It comes as the NHS prepares to offer tens of thousands of people in England a pill which can help them quit smoking.
Varenicline, a pill taken once a day, can be more effective than nicotine-replacement gum or patches, and as effective as vapes, in helping people to stop smoking, according to NHS England.
It is said to reduce cravings and the pleasurable effects of nicotine that keep people addicted.
