After months of spearheading Parliament's response to the dramatic increase in vaping among our children, Dr Neil Hudson MP celebrated a campaign win with the introduction of new legislation to tackle this issue.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced to Parliament this week, delivering on the Prime Minister's promise to ban disposable vapes and protect our young people from their damages.
The Bill includes new powers to restrict sweet vape flavours and bright packaging that is a key marketing tool used to entice young people. Moreover, vaping product displays will be moved out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them such as sweets.
While the long-term impacts of vaping on children are not fully understood, nicotine is incredibly addictive and Dr Hudson has heard of children are setting alarms in the middle of the night to vape, and thus stave off withdrawal symptoms when they wake up. From disrupting their education to causing behavioural issues, teachers and parents have contacted Dr Hudson about their significant concerns regarding vapes.
You can read more about his tireless work on the issue here.
Dr Hudson maintains that vaping is a useful tool to help adults quit tobacco smoking, but should never be used by children or non-smokers.
Under the bill, enforcement officers’ powers will also be strengthened with ‘on the spot fines’ of £100 to uphold the new laws and clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. This builds on a maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can already impose. It will also no longer be legal to give free samples of vapes to under 18s.
On top of this, the disposable vape ban will have huge benefit to our environment where lithium batteries have caused fires and harm to wildlife, as well as our streets where many vaping products litter the ground.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"It is incredibly rewarding to see the Prime Minister act on our campaign to protect children from the harms of vaping.
"I've been working alongside teachers and parents for some time now so this resolute action on the sweet flavours, bright colours and availability of disposable vapes will go a long way to improving children's lives - boosting educational attainment, protecting their physical and mental health.
"I look forward to supporting this Bill as it progresses through Parliament and becomes law."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added:
"If we want to build a better future for our children we need to tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death: smoking.
"That is why, alongside new measures to curb the alarming rise in youth vaping, we are delivering on our commitment to create a smokefree generation and stop our kids from getting hooked on harmful cigarettes and other nicotine products.
"This important change will save thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS, freeing up new resource than can be spent to improve outcomes for patients right across the UK."
The Bill also deliver's on the Prime Minister's commitment to protect the nation's youth by creating the first smokefree generation in history.
Smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer and costs the NHS and the economy an estimated £17 billion a year. It is highly addictive, with 4 in 5 smokers starting before the age of 20 and remaining addicted for the rest of their lives. This puts huge pressure on the NHS, with someone admitted to hospital with a smoking-relating condition almost every minute in England.
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, children turning 15 this year or younger will never legally be able to be sold tobacco. This will ensure that future generations are protected from the harmful impacts of smoking and save thousands of lives as well as billions of pounds for the NHS.
Importantly, creating a smokefree generation will help level up the UK because smoking is one of the most significant and preventable drivers of disparities in health outcomes.
Smoking itself will not be criminalised, and the phased approach means anyone who can legally buy tobacco now will not be prevented from doing so in future.
