Tobacco Products Directive

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[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.