Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Baroness Blake of Leeds Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 27th October 2025 Grand Committee

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 199 in my name, which complements Amendment 193, which was so effectively introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Young, and which I have also signed.

Amendment 199 would require the Government to publish and fund a comprehensive communications plan for the smoke-free generation policy. We have referred to the wealth of experience among us when it comes to implementing tobacco control measures: a number of those who are taking part in today’s discussion were involved in the 2007 smoke-free legislation, the subsequent rise in the age of sale and the introduction of plain packaging in 2016. We worked across parties. There are valuable lessons to be learned from how those policies were implemented.

The 2007 campaign for smoke-free indoor public places was, in many ways, the gold standard for large-scale public health communication. Its clear and consistent message—needed, wanted and workable—underpinned every aspect of that campaign. Early identification of those at risk of non-compliance ensured smooth implementation and effective enforcement. Government-led TV adverts made it absolutely clear that it was the Government, not the hospitality sector, who were informing the public of the changes. Venues and public spaces were equipped with the resources, signage and materials that they needed well in advance of implementation. The result was 98% compliance from day one. Public support was strong and the legislation was practically self-enforcing. Even the noble Lords who put what I see as the weakening amendments at the beginning of this debate said how well that had gone.

Crucially, the debate surrounding that policy also raised awareness of the harms of smoking and led to an increase in people’s attempts to seek to quit smoking. That is precisely the outcome we should be aiming for with this legislation. Although the rising age of sale will apply only to those born in or after 2009, this policy presents a significant opportunity to raise the profile of smoking-cessation services and to invite everyone to be part of this smoke-free generation.

I have tabled this amendment to ensure that the Government publish a clear and ambitious communications plan to achieve that. At its heart must be strong public health messaging, which is inclusive, evidence based and backed by a dedicated budget. Next year’s October campaign, which seeks to encourage smokers to stop, should be led by the Department of Health, sending a clear message that every smoker can join a smoke-free future. Now, this annual campaign is led by stakeholders, with little input from the department. This should change.

The communications around the disposable vapes ban were clearly ineffective. That was a Defra policy, but it published guidance only for businesses; there was nothing at all for the healthcare settings that use these products in smoking cessation. The Government will need to do better. I am sure that the Chief Medical Officer is aware of that, not least through his experience of Covid. There are in this Committee various people, not all on the same side, who have a lot of public affairs experience. I would love them to put their minds and experience to this; that would be really worth while.

A well-structured plan would also ensure that retailers are engaged early on, provided with concise materials, signage and briefing materials and supported to play their crucial role in this policy’s success. Engagement should be broad, involving local authorities, trading standards, the NHS and higher and further education. Such proactive collaboration would, as in 2007, reduce the need for enforcement by fostering widespread understanding and voluntary compliance. Obviously, such a communications plan needs robust monitoring, evaluation and engagement. Some noble Lords have already expressed concern about the novel nature of this policy; I hope this proposal demonstrates how the Government can provide reassurance through clarity, transparency and careful planning. The UK has a vibrant creative sector. Let us harness that in an ambitious and effective public information campaign, as happened with the 2007 ban on smoking in public places.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)]

My Lords, we are running out of time. If we want to finish the group, we will have to finish by 8 pm—otherwise, we will have to break midway through. It is up to noble Lords whether they want to keep their comments to a minimum so that we can finish this group.

[Baroness Grey-Thompson (CB)]

My Lords, I shall speak very briefly to Amendment 193, to which my name is added. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, for explaining its aim so well. I also support Amendment 4 from the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, and declare an interest as president of the LGA and chair of Sport Wales.

With my background in sport, I know that there has been a lot of nudge behaviour in stopping smoking. Some really good work has been done in Wales on smoke-free sport, and the Football Association of Wales has done work on banning smoking around youth games. However, this does not go far enough. I must apologise, as I am working on this and the Infrastructure and Planning Bill, and I have just come out of a debate on how to ensure that we have good physical activity and improve the health of the nation. The adverse impact of smoking on the health of the nation is partly why I am speaking on this Bill.

I am slightly surprised by some of the briefings that I have received, which seem to be more content with vaping than I expected. I am constantly told that it is much better than smoking, but it is hardly healthy. I have never smoked or vaped, so I probably do not come at it with the fervour of a reformed smoker, but I believe that a great deal of harm has been done by smoking and vaping. I shall discuss some of that in later groups. While smoking cessation services have gone some way, they do not go far enough. This amendment is part of a concerted effort to move forward. The way to do it is through a new clause that very clearly lays out the road map so that we can move towards a smoke-free United Kingdom.