"I am never quite sure whether I should declare an interest in this debate as someone who has smoked the occasional cigar, but on this set of amendments I declare an interest in that I have teenage children. I see their actions, which chime very much with what the noble …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"My Lords, first, I thank the Minister for her highly engaged approach to these issues facing small specialist tobacconists in the niche handmade, hand-rolled cigar industry. I also appreciated the assistance of her officials at the Department of Health, who have been sitting through a very long debate and must …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"My Lords, I read somewhere that the Department for International Trade is going to be reducing the number of experts in the field from 1,600 to 1,000. Is now really the time to be reducing our global staff by a third when our businesses need all the support they can …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"My Lords, I welcome the Minister to his role. I seem to remember that being Investment Minister is an important part of government. One of our triumphs was that we succeeded in creating the new gigafactory for Tata, in Somerset, which was clearly a landmark event. What are the Government …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"I rise to speak in favour of the first amendment, proposed by my noble friends, and against the second amendment: Amendment 180.
On actors and their ability to smoke on set, in my view, this is something that needs further refining. I ask the Minister to go back slightly on …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"My Lords, I will briefly follow my noble friend’s comments. We are in danger, with an understandable zealotry to extinguish all types of access to all types of tobacco-related products, of missing the reality of the point that there are millions of people in this country who could be occasional …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak to the amendments relating to penalties around advertising. As is often the case with legislation—many of us on this side were Government Ministers, too—the catch-all is extremely complex and rather dangerous. I agree that trying to prosecute someone who “has reason to suspect” that an …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"I apologise for delaying the Committee. I was not having a cigar, as was suggested; I just got caught in the slow lane in the Lobby.
I shall come briefly to a conclusion. I ask the Minister for some clarification around the reality of how these proposals will be brought …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech
"My Lords, I am sorry, but we will have to wait a few more moments for the noble Baroness’s excellent speech, which I know is coming filled with logic and reason.
"My Lords, I will speak in favour of this group of amendments, especially my noble friend Lord’s Lindsay’s excellent amendments— I commend him on his first-class speech to the Committee—and those amendments in my name, relating to the need for an impact assessment relating to hand-rolled cigars and handmade artisanal …..." Lord Johnson of Lainston - View Speech