Tobacco Products Directive

Earl Howe Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I refer noble Lords to my health interests in the register.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con)]

My Lords, we are very pleased to see the move towards tougher action on tobacco, with Europe-wide controls banning flavoured cigarettes and the introduction of stricter rules on front-of-pack health warnings. However, we are disappointed that the Commission’s proposal to regulate nicotine-containing products, including e-cigarettes, as medicines was not supported by the European Parliament. We believe that these products need to be regulated as medicines and we will continue to argue for this during further negotiations.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl, but is he particularly disappointed that it was Conservative MEPs who voted to weaken tobacco packaging warnings and blocked a ban on slim cigarettes, which are targeted at young women? Will the Government make amends by agreeing to amendments to the Children and Families Bill which would mandate the introduction of standardised packaging in this country?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the tobacco products directive, as the noble Lord will know, does not seek to introduce standardised packaging. As he will also know, the Government have decided to wait before making a final decision on that issue but we want member states to have the flexibility to make further progress on domestic tobacco control measures in certain key areas that go beyond the new directive. We have been helping to shape the final text of article 24 to achieve that objective.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

Is my noble friend aware that in this country people who have suffered even major amputations are still so addicted to tobacco that they will ask the doctor to hold up the cigarette to their mouth? I have had this report from doctors. Does he not think that what we really have to aim at is stopping smoking among the young? Is he aware that in Australia it is no longer cool to smoke if you are young? Apparently, that is more effective than any of the health warnings.

[Earl Howe]

My noble friend, as ever, makes some very wise comments. The good news is that the most recent figures on smoking prevalence are going in the right direction. It is undoubtedly true that we can never do enough to raise our game on smoking cessation measures, one of them being nicotine-containing products. That is of course a major focus for Public Health England.

[Lord Storey (LD)]

Does my noble friend agree that if children are being driven in a car where adults, perhaps their parents, are smoking it is extremely dangerous for those children? Does he not think that the Children and Families Bill is an opportunity to put this right?

--- Later in debate ---

[Earl Howe]

I certainly look forward to the debate on that issue during proceedings on the Children and Families Bill and I agree with my noble friend that we have to do all we can to discourage smokers from lighting up when children are in a vehicle. We believe that that can be done without resorting to legislation at present.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Lab)]

Is the Minister able to confirm that there is nothing in the tobacco products directive to prevent the Government introducing standard packaging for cigarettes and implementing a ban on smoking in cars when children are present?

[Earl Howe]

Yes, my Lords. So far there is nothing in the directive to prevent that, which is why article 24 is the most important issue for the Government. We want member states, as I have said, to have the flexibility to make further progress on domestic tobacco control measures in key areas.

[Lord Patel (CB)]

Despite the EU’s lack of interest in regulating for e-cigarettes, is it the Government’s intention to regulate against them in the United Kingdom?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, our position is clear: e-cigarettes should be regulated as medicines. These products need to be regulated for safety and quality, one of the reasons being that, as medicines, we can more effectively control their sale to children and the way that they are advertised and promoted. We need to take an approach that is future proof, being applicable to new technology nicotine products in whatever form might be brought forward in the future.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

Can the Minister tell us what action the Government intend to take over slim cigarettes, which were not affected in the recent EU directive but which are particularly appealing to young girls and are often a route to introducing them to becoming addicted to tobacco?

[Earl Howe]

The noble Baroness makes a very good point. While some in the public health community are concerned about slim cigarettes, and understandably so, both the European Parliament and the Council decided that slims should not be banned under this directive. However, she is right that slims are known to be more attractive to women than men. It may be something that remains on the agenda for future consideration at a European level.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of evidence from New Zealand that e-cigarettes are extremely effective in getting people off tobacco cigarettes and that they are more effective than tobacco patches? Is it not important that in regulating e-cigarettes we do not discourage them from taking a considerable market share from tobacco products, given that vaping is clearly much safer than smoking?

[Earl Howe]

My noble friend is right. E-cigarettes certainly have the potential for being a force for good in helping smokers to quit. At the same time, we do not want them to become a gateway into smoking. The aim is to have licensed products that have demonstrated safety, quality and efficacy, and for such products to be available as widely as possible.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

Will the Minister take note of the fact that people have moved from heroin to methadone, which is less dangerous to them than heroin? In fact, we now have hundreds of thousands of people parked on methadone and there is no way in which we can get them off it. That is extraordinarily expensive for the country and bad for their health.

[Earl Howe]

I recognise the issue that the noble Lord raises, but perhaps that is a debate for another time.