Parliament 1
A very busy period in the Houses of Parliament produces two articles this week covering questions and answers about vaping and tobacco harm reduction
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by Dave Cross
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The Bishop of St Albans asked the Government what estimate they have made of how many people in England under the age of 18 regularly use a vape or e-cigarette.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, Lord Kamall responded: “The Government collects statistics on smoking and vaping for 11- to 15-year-olds through the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People survey. Due to the pandemic, the latest available data is from 2018, which shows regular use of vapes for 11- to 15-year-olds at 3% and regular use of smoking cigarettes at 2%. Fieldwork for the latest survey is complete and due to be published later this year. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities collects data on vaping among 11- to 18-year-olds, which will be published in its 2022 Vaping in England report shortly.
“Under the current Tobacco Control Plan for England, the former Public Health England commissioned annual independent reports on vaping in England. The final report is due to be published by the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities shortly. The report will include systematic reviews of the respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer risks and reports on the risks from fires, explosions and poisonings.”
The Bishop followed up by asking what research is currently being undertaken into the long-term health effects caused by smoking e-cigarettes and vapes.
Lord Kamall replied by repeating his previous answer. The Bishop gave no indication if that was satisfactory.
Andrew Gwynne, the Shadow Minister for Public Health asked the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether it is the Prime Minister's policy to maintain the obligations set out under Article 5.3 of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, whether the Prime Minister has discussed the Government's tobacco policy with Lynton Crosby, or if he has discussed policy with any people or organisations linked to the tobacco industry.
Michael Ellis, the Minister for the Cabinet Office & Paymaster General told him: “Sir Lynton Crosby is not a Government Adviser; any assistance he may provide is in a party political capacity to the Conservative Party. In relation to Government policy on tobacco control, I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 9 June 2022, Official Report, HCWS87. In developing the new Tobacco Control Plan, I can confirm the Government will continue to follow WHO principles.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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