Bob Blackman is Chairman of the 1922 Committee and is MP for Harrow East
As a staunch Conservative, I was proud to support Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the previous parliament and I hope to see Labour make good on their promise to reintroduce it as soon as possible.
Although the Bill did not pass before the general election, it was a Conservative government that took on big tobacco and won the argument for a generational tobacco ban.
It is reported that Labour want to go further in a new Bill, building on the foundations laid by the Conservative government and restricting smoking in more places. I welcome this. Creating a smokefree society is not a party-political issue.
The commitment to reducing smoking has long been cross-party with much tobacco control legislation driven by backbench MPs who see the harms it does to their communities and know that there are no votes to be won siding with the tobacco industry.
For me, this is deeply personal.
Both of my parents died from cancer caused by smoking.
My late mother was only 47 when she died of lung and throat cancer, as she was a very heavy smoker for most of her life. I do not want to see families go through what my family had to go through during those terrible days.
Not only would ending smoking save tens of thousands of lives; it would also boost our economy and increase economic productivity. In 2023, smoking had a direct cost to the UK public finances of £21.9 bn, mainly through lost economic productivity from people being too sick to work.
This is more than double the £8.4 bn in revenue from tobacco tax receipts.
Some argue that restricting sale of tobacco or where people can smoke is about freedom of choice, but being exposed to others’ tobacco smoke or becoming addicted to smoking is not a matter of free choice.
This is especially true for children, with up to 11,000 admitted to hospital due to exposure to second hand smoke in 2015/16. Two thirds of children trying just one cigarette go on to become addicted daily smokers. As adults, most want to stop smoking, but on average it takes 30 attempts to succeed, and only one in ten smokers a year successfully quit.
Two out of three long-term smokers die prematurely, often after years of disability, from the cancers, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by their smoking.
Over 20,000 young adults aged 18-25 in the UK have taken up smoking since the King’s Speech in July so this issue could not be more urgent. There is nothing ‘unconservative’ about wanting the next generation to grow up free from this terrible addiction. Conservative voters agree, with YouGov polling finding that 70 per cent support a generational tobacco ban, as well as over half (52 per cent) of current smokers.
Over the last year, we’ve seen the tobacco industry step up their efforts to undermine the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
It has been reported that Philip Morris International – whose slogan is “delivering a smokefree future” – even went so far as to threaten legal action against the previous government in an attempt to delay their smokefree generation plans. The tobacco industry has a long track record of seeking to block lifesaving tobacco control policies through lobbying, legal threats, misinformation and even cynically presenting themselves as partners in helping people quit smoking. Make no mistake, this is an industry which makes vast profits selling a lethal and addictive product and they have no interest in stopping any time soon.
A common response to anti-smoking legislation, particularly from tobacco companies and their proxies, is that legislation will contribute to the black market. However, in reality, the opposite has been true. In 2000, one in five (20 per cent) cigarettes sold were illicit along with 60 percent of rolling tobacco. By 2022/23, after more than two decades of additional regulations, this had declined to 7 per cent for cigarettes and 33 per cent for rolling tobacco. This is due to a comprehensive illicit tobacco strategy implemented by successive governments.
A recent piece in Conservative Home highlighted the increased number of illicit tobacco seizures in 2023 as evidence that the black market is “exploding”. This could not be further from truth. The increase in seizures is due to Operation CeCe, a joint HMRC-National Trading Standards operation which has been working to seize illicit tobacco since January 2021. More seizures means a reduction in the number of illicit cigarettes on the market, not an increase. Of course, so long as there is a demand for tobacco there will always be criminals willing to undercut legitimate traders. This is why we need bold action to reduce demand for tobacco by preventing the next generation from becoming addicted in the first place and supporting existing smokers to quit.
There has been significant public debate around the leaked proposals to extend smokefree laws to outdoor spaces such as pub gardens, outdoor seating at restaurants and cafes, children’s parks, and outside universities and hospitals. These proposals should be subject to a robust consultation to ensure that members of the public, health professionals and hospitality businesses can all have their say, and the evidence can be heard about how harmful smoking is both direct and second hand. The consultation which preceded the 2007 indoor smoking ban helped to build support and awareness about the legislation, ensuring 98 per cent compliance from day one.
A robust public debate will also help to remind the public about the harms of smoking and encourage smokers to make a quit attempt.
Hospitality businesses have raised concerned about the proposals, and nobody would deny that the sector has had a very challenging few years. However, claims that banning smoking in pub gardens would be the “death knell” of the pub should be treated with caution.
The 2007 indoor smoking ban was a much more radical change than what is being proposed now and did not have a major impact on hospitality businesses. In fact, the number of premises with licenses to sell alcohol increased after the 2007 ban came in and people visited pubs more often, not less. Smoking rates have almost halved since then and will continue to fall with smokers making up a small proportion of current and future pub customers. There are opportunities for the trade too, creating community spaces free from the harms of tobacco smoke, protecting both customers and their workforce.
The indoor smokefree laws have had overwhelming support from the public – including smokers – and hospitality businesses. Few people would go back to the days of smoke-filled pubs.
I suspect the same will be true of any outdoor smoking restrictions.
Over the last fourteen years, Conservative governments have delivered real progress on tackling smoking, from introducing standard cigarette packs to banning smoking in cars with children present and setting a bold ambition to make England smokefree by 2030.
This has contributed to adult smoking prevalence almost halving from 19.8 per cent in 2011 to 11.6 percent in 2023. Among children the decline has been even starker, from 12 percent in 2010 to three per cent in 2021.
I urge my Conservative colleagues to back the Tobacco and Vapes Bill when it returns to parliament and cement the UK’s position as a world leader in tobacco control and deliver this transformative, Conservative public health legacy.
