Tobacco and Related Products (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Monday 24th July 2023 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Lord Markham) (Con)]

My Lords, the purpose of this instrument is to implement the EU Commission delegated directive (EU) 2022/2100 of 29 June 2022, which amends directive 2014/40/EU—the tobacco products directive—to withdraw certain exemptions in respect of heated tobacco products placed on the Northern Ireland market.

The instrument amends the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016—the TRPR—in relation to Northern Ireland. The regulations will apply to producers, suppliers, retailers and wholesalers that produce or supply heated tobacco products for consumption in Northern Ireland. Subject to the regulations being approved by Parliament, they are due to come into force on 23 October 2023.

The regulations apply to Northern Ireland only and are made for the purposes of dealing with matters arising from the Windsor Framework. The SI implements a change so that, from 23 October 2023, heated tobacco products can no longer have a characterising flavour, such as menthol, vanilla and fruit flavours. This is not a ban on heated tobacco, but it will limit the flavours available. A characterising flavour ban is already in place for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco in the TRPR.

We do not need to make changes in light of the Commission delegated directive’s requirement for heated tobacco products to contain health warnings and information messages if they combust. If heated tobacco products that involve a combustion process were placed on the UK market, they would be regulated as tobacco products for smoking and subject to existing regulations in the TRPR that require these products to contain a combined health warning and information message. There are currently no heated tobacco products on the GB or Northern Ireland markets that involve a combustion process and, as such, they are subject to the labelling requirements applicable to smokeless tobacco products.

A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument because the costs involved for business fall below the threshold for producing one.

Heated tobacco products on the UK market are produced and manufactured outside the UK by the tobacco industry. The characterising flavour ban will limit the products it can produce and supply to the Northern Ireland market and may impact on profits, in what is a relatively small market for the industry in Northern Ireland.

The DHSC has communicated with the tobacco industry, Northern Ireland retail representatives and enforcement agencies regarding the proposed changes. There is no significant impact on the public sector. Each district council in Northern Ireland will enforce the new requirements. They are not expected to be a significant burden on district councils, given the low use of heated tobacco products in Northern Ireland.

I am content to bring forward this legislation today. These regulations allow us to honour our current commitments under the Windsor Framework and will have limited impact on Northern Ireland business. I commend these regulations to the Committee.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his presentation of the statutory instrument. I have to declare an interest: I am a member of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, and we discussed this SI. There was no dissent from it and there was general support, but we drew it to the attention of your Lordships’ House.

I am a supporter of the Windsor Framework, and any shilly-shallying around it can lead to uncertainty in Northern Ireland. It is important that we and the people of Northern Ireland, particularly businesses, can avail themselves of the economic opportunities in relation to access to the UK internal market and the EU single market.

--- Later in debate ---

I am not aware of the Bath University study, but I will make sure that I find out about it. I hope that, in this conversation I have managed—

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for giving way. In relation to what he said about the transport of these substances, I indicated the issue of regulation, as did the noble Lord, Lord Allan. In the past, during our troubled history, cigarettes were used as a form of smuggling, and also used as contraband by paramilitary organisations. The Minister says there is only minor use of these cartridges, for want of a better description—but I have seen them sold along with cigarettes in locked-up containers in shops, and young people purchasing them, particularly the fruit-flavoured ones. If they do not have access to that, how will they be able to get them? What mitigation and control measures will be put in place to prevent them becoming like contraband and being abused by erstwhile paramilitary organisations?

[Lord Markham (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for that remark. I think that I probably need to give that a detailed response as well. The point I was trying to make was that these heated tobacco products are a very small part of the market to begin with and the flavoured versions are even smaller again. While the noble Baroness is correct that that potential is there, the amount is very small indeed, but I will give her a detailed response on that.

I have tried to answer the specific points raised; as I say, I will follow up in more detail in writing. We have to honour the regulations set out by our commitments under the Windsor Framework agreement. With that, I commend these regulations to the Committee.