Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Baroness Merron (Dept of Health and Social Care) re: Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Found: Letter from Baroness Merron (DHSC) to Lord Carlile of Berriew re: Tobacco and Vapes Bill, 16 March 2026

Found: 16 March 2026 Dear Lord Carlile, Thank you for your letter of 4 March concerning the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Found: (86.0%)3 1 Sarah Bool was absent between and 07.01.25 and 30.01.25 as she was on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department for Business and Trade has made any assessment of the potential effect of the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on (a) restaurants, (b) pubs, (c) small and independent retailers.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Department published an impact assessment for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill during its parliamentary passage. This included analysis of the expected impact on businesses from the bill measures, including small and micro businesses, retailers, and the hospitality sector.

Broadly, the analysis concluded that the measures in the bill will introduce some cost to business, including familiarisation costs and potential impacts from reduced tobacco, vape, and nicotine product sales and lost profits. We also expect that the bill’s measures will deliver a range of benefits, particularly wider public health benefits. For example, the smoke-free generation policy is expected to deliver significant health benefits to individuals and reductions to the National Health Service, social care, and productivity costs by reducing the number of people taking up smoking. Overall, the estimated net benefit of the smoke-free generation policy is over £30 billion, in 2024 prices, over 30 years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government in light of the data published by the Office for National Statistics on 19 February showing decreasing life expectancy for males and females and a gap in healthy life expectancy between local areas, whether they are on track to deliver the shift to sickness to prevention and the reduction in health inequalities committed to in the 10-year Health Plan for England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Office for National Statistics’ publication on 19 February showed that healthy life expectancy decreased between 2022 to 2024, although overall life expectancy increased.

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone lives well for longer, regardless of where they are from. This is set out in our ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.

The key to achieving this is shifting from sickness to prevention, and we are already delivering that shift. For example, through our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free Britain, alongside decisive action to tackle childhood obesity and create the healthiest generation of children ever. Additionally, we have fulfilled our commitment to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online.

We will be supporting people to make healthier choices when it comes to alcohol, and this includes strengthening and expanding alcohol labelling. We will also tackle air pollution, which particularly affects working class communities. This spring, we will publish the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which will drive action on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke through evidence-based interventions, innovation, and tackling unwarranted variation and inequalities in care.

The Government can’t do this alone. We will succeed by taking a whole society approach, and as such we will work in parentship with business, civil society, and citizens to drive our national mission and empower individuals to live well for longer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the data published by the Office of National Statistics about healthy life expectancy on 19 February 2026, whether they are on track to deliver the shift from sickness to prevention and the reduction in health inequalities committed to in the 10 Year Health Plan for England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Office for National Statistics’ publication on 19 February showed that healthy life expectancy decreased between 2022 to 2024, although overall life expectancy increased.

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone lives well for longer, regardless of where they are from. This is set out in our ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.

The key to achieving this is shifting from sickness to prevention, and we are already delivering that shift. For example, through our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free Britain, alongside decisive action to tackle childhood obesity and create the healthiest generation of children ever. Additionally, we have fulfilled our commitment to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online.

We will be supporting people to make healthier choices when it comes to alcohol, and this includes strengthening and expanding alcohol labelling. We will also tackle air pollution, which particularly affects working class communities. This spring, we will publish the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which will drive action on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke through evidence-based interventions, innovation, and tackling unwarranted variation and inequalities in care.

The Government can’t do this alone. We will succeed by taking a whole society approach, and as such we will work in parentship with business, civil society, and citizens to drive our national mission and empower individuals to live well for longer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to publish an implementation timetable for the regulations under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is in its final stages, awaiting Royal Assent.

We published a call for evidence to inform future regulations on licensing, registration, vape flavours, and appearance, which closed on 3 December 2025.

On 13 February, we launched the consultation on smoke-free, heated tobacco-free, and vape-free places in England, which closes on 8 May, and which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smoke-free-heated-tobacco-free-and-vape-free-places-in-england/smoke-free-heated-tobacco-free-and-vape-free-places-in-england

The devolved administrations will run separate consultations. Following Royal Assent of the bill, we will further develop proposals for secondary legislation, including public consultation. This will help to inform our implementation schedule, and we will update on it in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes; what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to improve OSA diagnosis and treatment; and whether his Department plans to recognise OSA as a cardiovascular risk factor within the upcoming CVD Modern Service Framework.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Well-established cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as smoking, excess weight, diabetes, and heart failure are also associated with an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and the Government is taking wide-ranging action to tackle these underlying risk factors. This includes delivering a smokefree generation through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, expanding access to weight management support through National Health Services, and investing in prevention and treatment programmes such as the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme and the Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, which support people to reduce their risk of developing CVD and related conditions.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new CVD Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) this spring. The CVD MSF will focus on the interventions that will have the greatest impact on reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke in the next decade, whilst supporting consistent, high quality, and equitable care across the CVD pathway.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve oral health for those without access to preventative dental care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Government is working to improve oral health and reduce inequalities for those without access to preventative dental care by addressing the main risk factors of dental disease. These include sugar reduction, restrictions on less healthy food and drink, and the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will also help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom alongside record funding for local stop smoking services.

Since 2025, we have invested £21.5 million to deliver the national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five year olds. We are expanding water fluoridation in the north east of England, so that it reaches 1.6 million more people, and are refurbishing older fluoridation schemes, benefitting a further six million people by 2030, to reduce the inequalities faced by vulnerable children and adults.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform by the end of this Parliament. Reforms introduced from April 2026 include changes to embed the provision of urgent care into the dental contract, supported by increased payments for dentists delivering this care, making it easier for patients to get rapid support through the National Health Service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address oral health inequalities among adults who cannot access NHS dental care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Government is working to improve oral health and reduce inequalities for those without access to preventative dental care by addressing the main risk factors of dental disease. These include sugar reduction, restrictions on less healthy food and drink, and the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will also help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom alongside record funding for local stop smoking services.

Since 2025, we have invested £21.5 million to deliver the national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five year olds. We are expanding water fluoridation in the north east of England, so that it reaches 1.6 million more people, and are refurbishing older fluoridation schemes, benefitting a further six million people by 2030, to reduce the inequalities faced by vulnerable children and adults.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform by the end of this Parliament. Reforms introduced from April 2026 include changes to embed the provision of urgent care into the dental contract, supported by increased payments for dentists delivering this care, making it easier for patients to get rapid support through the National Health Service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the definition of substantial discount will be under the Tobacco and Vapes Act and how it will be enforced.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

There is currently no restriction on the free distribution of samples of nicotine or non-nicotine vapes. It is completely unacceptable that a child could be given a harmful product that could lead them to a lifetime of addiction.

That is why the Tobacco and Vapes Bill introduces a ban on businesses giving away any tobacco, herbal smoking, vaping, or nicotine products, as well as cigarette papers, to a member of the public.

To support this, it will also be an offence to sell one of these products at a substantial discount. The bill does not give a definition of what constitutes a substantial discount because this will be different depending on the product and circumstances in question. However, further guidance will be provided after the bill becomes law.

Enforcement action will be taken by the relevant enforcement authority if businesses do not comply.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the advertising of vapes and tobacco products alongside items such as toys and sweets in retail settings; and what assessment he has made of the potential steps of further restricting advertisements to ensure such products are not marketed in a way that could appeal to children.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Evidence shows that comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising have had a significant impact on reducing consumption, but partial bans have had no significant effect. This is why most forms of advertising and promotion of tobacco products are already banned under the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002. These products are also hidden from display in most retail settings to protect children and young people from the harms of tobacco.

We know that vapes and other nicotine products are being deliberately branded and advertised to appeal to children, and it is concerning that youth vaping has more than doubled over the past five years.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children and will extend current tobacco advertising restrictions to vaping products and nicotine products. The bill also gives us the powers to make regulations to restrict the display of these products in stores. We will consult on display proposals later this year.

The Government has published a thorough impact assessment of the measures included in the bill, including on the prohibition on the advertising of vaping and nicotine products. The Government will monitor the impact of these restrictions following their implementation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is still working towards the Smokefree 2030 ambition for England.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government’s ambition is to deliver a smoke-free United Kingdom, and we are going even further than the smoke-free 2030 target.

The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will create the first smoke-free generation which is expected to help reduce smoking rates of 14- to 30-year-olds to near zero by 2050.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of capping the strength of nicotine pouches to 20 milligrams of nicotine per pouch.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Nicotine pouches are highly addictive and we have a duty to protect children and young people from potential harms.

Unlike vapes, there are no legally established nicotine limits for pouches, with strengths ranging from two milligram to 50 milligram or more per pouch.

This is why the Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes powers to regulate the packaging, flavours, and product standards of all vapes and nicotine products, including nicotine pouches. The bill will also introduce age of sale restrictions to 18 years old for nicotine pouches and will ban their advertising and sponsorship.

We ran a call for evidence on nicotine limits, amongst other tobacco and vaping issues, at the end of last year. We plan to consult on future regulatory plans in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department is taking steps to develop a dedicated lung health plan for respiratory conditions and lung disease.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are rolling out lung cancer screening, and the world-leading Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom. We are also expanding access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres to enable faster diagnosis of lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Lords Amendment 22 to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill permits an enforcement body to invest in smoking cessation services in connection with their purposes.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Lords Amendment 22 allows a relevant enforcement authority in England to retain all proceeds from the £2,500 fixed penalty notices for licensing offences in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The bill provides that the proceeds must be used for the enforcement of tobacco and vape legislation, mirroring the approach to the use of proceeds from £200 fixed penalty notices in the bill. The bill does not allow proceeds from fixed penalty notices to be invested in smoking cessation services.

From April 2026, the Government is investing an additional £260 million over three years in Stop Smoking Services within the Public Health Grant. This will mean at least £153 million of ringfenced funding for Stop Smoking Services each year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking regulate the advertisement of nicotine pouch products.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

We are committed to protecting children from the risks of nicotine addiction. Evidence suggests that awareness and use of nicotine pouches is growing amongst young people.

There are currently no advertising restrictions on nicotine pouches. To address this, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of all nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, mirroring the effective restrictions on tobacco. This will include a ban on television, radio, and online adverts, as well as printed advertisements such as traditional billboards. The advertising ban will be commenced by commencement order once the bill has received Royal Assent, and we have committed to giving industry 12 months’ notice of when the ban will come into force.

Additionally, the bill will also provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging and display of nicotine products, including nicotine pouches. These powers will further limit the marketing and promotion of these products to young people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure the 4.9 million smokers in Great Britain have equitable access to smoking cessation advice, support and tools to start their quit journey.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Alongside our Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we remain committed to supporting current smokers to quit.

The Government has invested an additional £70 million in both 2024/25 and 2025/26 to support local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England to help people quit. We are already seeing the impact this has made, with the first year of additional funding for 2024/25 having resulted in a 23% increase in the number of people supported to quit compared to the previous year.

From April 2026, we will ring-fence all funding for smoking cessation services within the Public Health Grant, meaning at least £153 million, increasing to £155 million in 2028/29, will be protected for these services. The additional funding will ensure there is a comprehensive offer across local authorities in England, with funding weighted toward local authorities with the highest smoking rates. The Better Health Website is also available and contains comprehensive cessation advice to support individuals to find the right approach for them.

In addition, the 10-Year Health Plan for England restated our commitment to integrate opt-out smoking cessation interventions into routine care within all hospitals. As of quarter three of 2025/26, 99% of eligible maternity services and 92% of eligible in-patient services had an opt-out tobacco dependence treatment offer.

As health is a devolved matter, local stop smoking support in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the UK’s progress towards achieving a smoke-free society.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Smoking prevalence continues to fall across the United Kingdom. In 2024, approximately 5.3 million people aged 18 years old and over were current smokers, 10.6% of the adult population. This is the lowest proportion of current smokers since records began, but we are determined to continue this trend at pace and create a smoke-free UK.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is in its final stages, and Royal Assent should take place as soon as possible in this parliamentary session. This will create a smoke-free generation and will ensure we are on track towards a smoke-free UK.

In addition to the bill, the Government is committed to supporting existing smokers to quit. From this April, we will ringfence all funding for stop smoking services in the Public Health Grant, meaning at least £150 million per year will be protected for these services. This will provide greater certainty and flexibility for local areas to invest in these vital services.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they will give to introducing regulations for the use of premises for the sale of vaping products, following the fire in Glasgow on 8 March.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers for Ministers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to establish a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products in their respective nations. Instead of retail licensing, Scotland has an established register of tobacco and vape retailers which has been in place for over 15 years.

Retail licensing will strengthen enforcement of tobacco and vape legislation, supporting retailers who operate responsibly while deterring those who break the law. The Government sought evidence on the implementation of retail licensing through a call for evidence which closed in December last year. We will hold a subsequent consultation on our proposals before introducing regulations.

In terms of fire safety, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a range of legal duties on Responsible Persons (the person in control of a premises which can include building owners, landlords and employers), chief among which is the need to undertake a fire risk assessment. The assessment must identify any general fire safety precautions that need to be taken to ensure that the premises, and people within it, are safe from fire. Additionally, the Responsible Person must put those precautions in place and ensure they are subject to a suitable system of maintenance.

In order to help Responsible Persons discharge their duties MHCLG publish a range of guides including a guide for persons with duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended) and are in the process of updating the Offices and Shops guide where we will take any learning from this fire and see how this can be captured in guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration his Department has given to data from the Office for National Statistics highlighting that for the first time there are more adult vapers in Great Britain than there are smokers.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Department continues to monitor the latest data on smoking and vaping prevalence, including the figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The 2024 ONS Adult Smoking Habits in the UK data shows that 10% of adults in Great Britain, approximately 5.4 million people, are current vape users, compared with 4.9 million adult smokers, based on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

We are pleased to see a further reduction in the number of smokers and the continued general downward trend in smoking prevalence. The Government is investing an additional £260 million over three years in Stop Smoking Services within the Public Health Grant to support local Stop Smoking Services in England and continue our National Smokefree Pregnancy Incentives scheme to support pregnant smokers to quit.

Our health advice on vaping is clear: vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape – and children should never vape. Evidence suggests the majority of adult vapers are current or former smokers, demonstrating the role vapes can play in smoking cessation. For those who feel ready to quit vaping and who are confident they can do so without returning to smoking, the Better Health website has a dedicated page on quitting vaping.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine. The Bill, currently going through Parliament, includes a range of measures to tackle youth vaping and will give the government powers to restrict the display, packaging and product features.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support he is giving to local authorities in Staffordshire to take enforcement action against the sale of a) tobacco b) fruit flavoured vapes and c) alcohol to under 18s.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government is supporting local authorities to take enforcement action against the underage sales of tobacco, vapes, and alcohol.

On tobacco and vapes, the Government is providing up to £10 million annually until 2028/29 for Trading Standards, to support the enforcement of illicit and underage sales in England. This funding is being used to boost the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting 120 new apprentices, including one apprentice in Staffordshire, enabling more underage sales test purchases and swifter enforcement action against illicit activity.

Alongside this, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will introduce £200 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales for certain tobacco and vape offences, including underage sales, to empower Trading Standards to take swifter action to fine those who choose to break the law and sell to anyone underage, putting the public’s health at risk. The bill will also provide ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland with regulation making powers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products. This will strengthen enforcement against retailers who breach tobacco and vape age of sale regulations.

On alcohol, the Home Office supports local authorities through the Licensing Act 2003 and Section 182 guidance, which require licensed premises to operate a mandatory age verification policy at the point of sale. Enforcement of underage sales rests with local licensing authorities, Trading Standards, and the police, who can prosecute, including for persistent sales, and seek licence reviews or revocation to protect children from harm.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on the economic viability of (a) pubs, (b) nightclubs, (c) bars and (d) other parts of the hospitality sector.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill Impact Assessment, published in November 2024, which was given a ‘green’ rating by the Regulatory Policy Committee, assesses the expected impact of policies on the face of the bill, including any impacts on the hospitality industry. The impact on the hospitality industry of any regulations implemented using powers in the bill will be assessed in separate impact assessments when these regulations are developed. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill Impact Assessment is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6985eeb7cfe7ccf77efbc74e/tobacco-and-vapes-bill-impact-assessment.pdf

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of lowering the age of smoking and vaping to 16 year olds on the impact of 16 year olds.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability, and ill health. It claims the lives of approximately 80,000 people a year in the United Kingdom and kills up to two-thirds of its long-term users.

Three quarters of smokers wish they had never started smoking but are unable to due to the addictive nature of tobacco. Raising the age of sale for smoking from 16 to 18 years old reduced prevalence in this age group by 30%. In addition, people who start smoking under the age of 18 years old have higher levels of nicotine dependence compared to those starting over 21 years old, and are less likely to make a quit attempt and successfully quit.

The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free UK. It will enable us to create a smoke-free generation, gradually ending the sale of tobacco products across the country and breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.

Vaping is less harmful than smoking and can be an effective quit aid, but is not risk-free. The health advice is clear, that young people and those who have never smoked should not vape or be encouraged to vape.

The age of sale for nicotine vapes is 18 years old. Due to the risk of harm and addiction, we are not considering reducing the age of sale for vaping. Whilst non-nicotine vapes and nicotine products are not currently subject to specific age of sale regulations, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill aligns the law for these products, ensuring consistency across vapes and nicotine products so that all these products are subject to an age of sale of 18 years old.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to give powers to councils to reject applications for new betting shops, vapes stores and fake barbers.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

The Government is taking action to give local authorities and communities the power greater control over the mix of uses on their high streets. Later this year Government will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, backed by at least £150 million of support, to tackle the challenges care about most.

When parliamentary time allows, we will introduce Cumulative Impact Assessments in gambling licensing, enabling councils to better manage the concentration of gambling premises in vulnerable areas. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will also provide powers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products. Alongside this, the 2025 Budget committed £15 million per year to tackle illegal activity on the high street.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to to strengthen penalties for repeat breaches of tobacco and vape licensing conditions once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is enacted.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently being considered in the House of Lords, provides powers to enable the Government to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products. As set out in the bill, if a retailer is found to be in breach of a condition of their licence, they could receive a civil financial penalty of up to £2,500. Enforcement officers take a proportionate approach to enforcement and will be able to issue a financial penalty at a value that reflects the severity of the breach. Serious cases could face revocation of their licence which would prohibit them from selling relevant products. Selling without a licence will be a serious offence and could result in an unlimited fine on conviction, or a £2,500 on-the-spot fine. We will provide guidance on the licensing scheme to support enforcement officers when issuing civil penalties for licence breaches.

Details of the licensing scheme, including licence conditions and consequences for anyone found to have breached those conditions, will be set out in regulations. We will consult on the specifics of the scheme before bringing forward secondary legislation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of the use of (a) licence transfers and (b) changes of company ownership to avoid enforcement action in the tobacco and vaping retail sector.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

There is currently no requirement for a business in the United Kingdom to obtain a licence to sell tobacco, vapes, or nicotine products. This is in contrast to some other retail activities that pose a risk of harm to the public, such as the sale of alcohol, which do require a licence.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme, in their respective nations, for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products. This will strengthen enforcement and support legitimate businesses, while acting as a deterrent to retailers who breach the law. In doing so, it will support public health.

Our recent call for evidence sought evidence on the implementation of the licensing scheme to inform proposals for a future consultation. We will consult on the specifics of the scheme before bringing forward secondary legislation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of vaping devices that contain (a) multiple cartridges, (b) pods and (c) refill containers that can be used simultaneously or sequentially within a single device on the health of the people using that device.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.

We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the relationship between (a) puff-count capacity, (b) nicotine delivery, and (c) dependence risk in multi-pod or “carousel” style vaping devices.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.

We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of prohibiting the sale of vaping devices that can hold or connect to more than one e-liquid container at a time.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.

We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) National Insurance increase, (b) National Living Wage, (c) Increase in Beer excise duty, (d) the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and (e) the increase to business rates on the hospitality industry in (1) England and (2) other constituent nations.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the important contribution that businesses in the hospitality sector make to local communities, the high street and the wider economy across the UK. The potential impacts of changes on this sector are carefully considered as part of policy development.

Where changes are made, relevant impact notes and assessments are published at fiscal events and otherwise as necessary, in line with the Government’s usual practice. The Treasury also engages regularly with the hospitality sector to understand the challenges they face.

The Government continues to provide targeted support to the hospitality sector through the tax system and other policies and keeps all areas of the tax system under review, with future decisions taken at fiscal events under the normal process.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans her Department has to review taxes across the tobacco and nicotine category in the context of regulation changes to the tobacco and nicotine market via the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the planned revision of the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the annual Budget process and will continue to monitor the progress of the EU Tobacco Products Directive as it goes through the EU legislative process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent ill health in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future announced ambitious measures to make the healthy choice the easy choice, including for people in Surrey Heath. This includes tackling the obesity epidemic through mandatory healthy food sales reporting, business targets to increase the healthiness of products sold, and restrictions on junk food advertising strengthening and expanding alcohol labelling and tackling air pollution. We are already delivering with our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill which will create a smoke-free United Kingdom.

We will also be asking the National Health Service to do more to support our approach to prevention. This includes through our world leading immunisation programmes and screening programmes, improving the detection, treatment, and management of the behavioural and clinical risk factors that drive England’s burden of disease.

NHS bodies and upper tier and unitary local authorities in England commission a range of preventative health services and are responsible for taking local decisions on the resources allocated to them. Core funding for upper tier and unitary local authorities in England public health responsibilities is through the Public Health Grant. The Government will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing more than £13.4 billion over the next three years through a consolidated Public Health Grant, giving local authorities greater certainty to support long term prevention planning and make the best decisions to promote better population health.

NHS spending will increase by £15 billion in real terms by 2028/29, taking the resource budget to £225 billion, and the health capital budget will increase to £15.2 billion by the end of the Spending Review period. The Surrey local authority will receive nearly £50 million in 2026/27 through their Public Health Grant. From 1 April 2026, Surrey Heath will fall under the Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board which will see its recurrent core services allocation uplifted by 2.28% in 2026/27.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has in place to help ensure smokers in Great Britain have equitable access to smoking cessation advice, support and tools.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Alongside our Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we remain committed to supporting current smokers to quit.

The Government has invested an additional £70 million in both 2024/25 and 2025/26 to support local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England to help people quit. We are already seeing the impact this has made, with the first year of additional funding in 2024/25 having resulted in a 23% increase in the number of people supported to quit compared to the previous year.

From April 2026, we will ring-fence all funding for smoking cessation services within the Public Health Grant, meaning at least £153 million, increasing to £155 million in 2028/29, will be protected for these services. The additional funding will ensure there is a comprehensive offer across local authorities in England, with funding weighted toward local authorities with the highest smoking rates. The Better Health Website is also available and contains comprehensive cessation advice to support individuals to find the right approach for them.

In addition, the 10-Year Health Plan for England restated our commitment to integrate opt-out smoking cessation interventions into routine care within all hospitals. As of Quarter 3 of 2025/26, 99% of eligible maternity services and 92% of eligible in-patient services had an opt-out tobacco dependence treatment offer.

As health is a devolved matter, local stop smoking support in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) automatic licence suspension and (b) revocation thresholds for retailers found repeatedly selling (i) illegal and (ii) non-compliant vaping devices.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is currently being considered in the House of Lords, provides powers to enable the Government to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, and also to specify the grounds on which a licence may be granted, suspended, revoked, or varied.

We recently launched a call for evidence to gather views on a range of topics related to tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, including the implementation of the proposed licensing scheme for the retail sale of these products. The call for evidence ran for eight weeks and closed in December 2025.

The call for evidence asked detailed questions on the administration and implementation of the licensing scheme, including factors that should be considered by licensing authorities when making licensing decisions. The evidence gathered will be used to inform the development of the licensing scheme, and we will launch a subsequent consultation on our policy proposals before bringing forward secondary legislation.

Found: 2025, c1341 King's Speech 2026 13 Commons Library Research Briefing, 10 April 2026 Tobacco and Vapes Bill

We call on Parliament to amend the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to restrict access to vapes using a similar generational ban as it has for cigarettes, and restrict it for other people by making it available via prescription only and restricting available flavours.

Found: Amend Tobacco and Vapes Bill to restrict vapes like cigarettes, and limit access

Found: • The Tobacco and Vapes Bill: This Bill makes provision to prohibit the sale of tobacco to anyone

Found: This led to the introduction of the first Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Parliament.

Found: This led to the introduction of the first Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Parliament in March 202428.

Found: This led to the introduction of the second Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Parliament, announced in the King

Found: Written evidence response: Tobacco and Vapes Bill 52 Asthma and Lung UK.

Found: retail outlook post-budget retail crime business rates support Deposit Return Schemes the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Found: retail outlook post-budget, retail crime, business rates support, Deposit Return Schemes, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Found: Research UK, Asthma + Lung UK, British Heart Foundation, Stroke Association Meeting to discuss tobacco and vapes bill

Found: Foundation Stroke Association

Found: Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law

Found: We are delivering the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create the first smoke free generation, as

Found: We are delivering the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create the first smoke free generation, as

Found: • The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introducing a progressive smoking ban and a ban on advertising vapes

Found: Other useful links: Receiving, storing and moving excise goods – GOV.UK The Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024

Found: • Continued attention to the implementation of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and smoke-free generation

Found: options Background Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (the 2026 Act) On 29 April 2026 the UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Found: discussed.24 The views of children and young people fed into the groups’ recommendations to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Found: amongst children and young people in Wales.13 The written evidence was submitted to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill