Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Lord Murray of Blidworth Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 23rd April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con)]

My Lords, as the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, observed, the joy of being so far down the speakers’ list is that one can greatly abbreviate one’s remarks. I am pleased to follow the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, although it is my misfortune to take a slightly different view on the Bill.

I have two significant concerns about the tobacco side of the Bill. The first is its impact on shops and staff; the second is the black market consequences of these measures. These two points are linked. The ONS tells us that the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes is £16.60. It is estimated that, on the black market, a packet of 20 will cost you between £3 and £6. It is obvious, therefore, that the black market is a lucrative business to engage in. It is clear, from the impact assessment and utterances from Ministers in the other place, that there is a great deal of complacency about the threat posed by the black market. I need only refer to the eloquent remarks of my noble friends Lord Leicester and Lord Sharpe of Epsom in that regard.

Not only does a flourishing black market mean there is a risk of counterfeit or substandard cigarettes being sold to individuals, but there is also the significant risk that purchasing on the black market will potentially expose the young purchaser to a range of other, illegal substances, such as cannabis and other drugs, which would be a much more damaging health path for them to go down. There is also the risk that purchasing on the black market is done in an entirely unregulated atmosphere; there will be no age limits on the black market. There will be a very significant loss to the taxman. The £10 million this year and £30 million in the future promised to trading standards will not even touch the sides.

I turn to my second point. The idea that, in a few years hence, a staff member in a corner shop will routinely deny tobacco to a 37 year-old but allow it for a 38 year-old is a circumstance bordering on the incredible. The suggestion that they will demand sight of an identity card to allow someone to buy tobacco if they are in the potential range of looking in their mid to late 30s, rather than their late 30s, is hard to credit. One can entirely understand that, in many cases, this may lead to an atmosphere of tension and aggression, which will be most disadvantageous to those staff members. This must be seen in the context of its environment: a lot of these shops work late at night, and they are often single staffed. These staff are, sadly, routinely assaulted and crimes are committed in their shops already. This Bill will make matters worse as it stands.

Furthermore, tobacco and vapes make up 20% of the revenues of many of these small shops. The likelihood is that, without these sales and with them being conducted on shady street corners on the black market instead, a lot of these shops will go bust—with all that that means for community cohesion, for the convenience of the people who live near those shops, and for those who own and work in those shops—but the gangs will thrive. We have much to consider in Committee.