Parliament & THR
Questions relating to vaping and tobacco harm reduction taking place in the House of Commons and the House of Lords
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by Dave Cross
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Alex Chalk, MP for Cheltenham, asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care if the Government has made an assessment of the effect of second hand smoke from residential properties on people in neighbouring properties. He also wanted to know if there are plans to extend the smoking ban to private homes.
Seema Kennedy responded: “The Government has made no such assessment. However, the Government remains committed to protecting the public from the harms of smoking and a comprehensive set of tobacco control policies is in place. There are no plans to extend the smoking ban to private homes.”
Labour’s Paul Farrelly demanded to know what the Department of Health and Social Care is doing to tackle his perception of an underage vaping problem.
Seema Kennedy pointed out that the Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) legislates for the regulation of electronic cigarettes. The TPD has been adopted into U.K. law through the UK Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. She said: “The legislation introduced measures to regulate e-cigarettes to reduce the risk of harm to children through rules on product safety, labelling and restrictions on advertising for electronic cigarettes.”
She added that the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015, “makes it illegal to sell an electronic cigarette to any one aged under 18 years. Local trading standards have enforcement powers to take action on breaches of both sets of regulations.”
“Public Health England’s latest e-cigarette evidence review published in February 2019 indicates regular youth use of electronic cigarettes remains low” - Seema Kennedy MP
“We continue to monitor the evidence and data on youth vaping,” Kennedy added. “Public Health England’s latest e-cigarette evidence review published in February 2019 indicates regular youth use of electronic cigarettes remains low. The Government has also made a commitment to review the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 by May 2021, and the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 by May 2020.”
In the House of Lords, Lord Teverson wrote to Baroness Blackwood about Formula 1 sponsorship. He asked about what assessment has been conducted by the government of, “the sponsorship of the Ferrari and McLaren Formula One teams by Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco; and whether those sponsorships, and related branding displayed on cars due to be racing at the British Grand Prix, are in accordance with EU, and UK, laws on tobacco advertising.”
Baroness Blackwood told him that no assessment has been carried out. She said: “The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 bans the advertising of tobacco products and sponsorship that has the purpose or effect of promoting tobacco products. We expect tobacco companies to comply with these restrictions.”
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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