Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Eighth sitting)

Debate between Mary Kelly Foy and Preet Kaur Gill

Committee stage
Tuesday 14th May 2024 Public Bill Committees

[Preet Kaur Gill]

I thank the hon. Member for Harrow East for raising the issue. As we know, separately from the Bill the Government are also introducing a one-off increase to tobacco duty as well as a vaping excise duty. I know that similar proposals to this one have been raised with the Government in the past, through the great work of the APPG on smoking and health. Previous Ministers expressed concerns that the proposals as previously drafted would serve to make tobacco companies pass on the cost to consumers in the shops. Undoubtedly, none of us wants any policies introduced that would come at the expense of consumers but miss their target: the tobacco giants. When it comes to addiction, we know that our most deprived communities are most likely to smoke. I am conscious of making their lives any more difficult. That said, I am certainly no proponent of any policy that would make tobacco cheap and easily available, and indeed it was a Labour Government who brought in a specific tobacco duty in the 1970s in the first place.

I understand that the revised proposal includes provisions to ensure that the Government can raise additional revenue from the enormous profits of tobacco producers, while ensuring the costs are not passed on. It is a complicated proposal that would require a team of officials within the Department of Health and Social Care to conduct market analysis, and for a tax to be set at a rate to hit those profits while regulating the prices in shops. Undoubtedly, something with as many moving parts as that would require thorough analysis and consultation, and I recognise that that is what the clause seeks to do. Given the existing levers we have available to us in tobacco duty and the focus we are trying to put on delivering a smoke-free future, I am reluctant to introduce something to the statute book that would distract from that priority. Through the Bill, there is already much consultation to be getting on with: on vapes, flavours, packaging and much more besides. I congratulate the hon. Member and the APPG on their excellent work, but this is not our priority at present.

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

We heard during our evidence session about the immense damage that is done to our health, wellbeing and the economy, costing the public finances nearly double the amount raised by tobacco taxation. We also heard about the inordinate profits of the tobacco industry and about the idea of a polluter pays levy, which could raise up to £700 million a year. I hope Members would agree that that would help to deliver the smoke-free future that we all want to see.

I am vice-chair of the APPG and we have called for this proposal for many years, and it was great to see it in Dr Khan’s recommendations. The levy is popular and feasible and, as the report from ASH shows, is supported by voters of all political persuasions and the majority of tobacco retailers.

The tobacco manufacturers have the money; they should be made to pay to end the epidemic that their products are causing for our communities. However, I understand that there is still a nervousness from the Treasury and a reluctance on both sides to accept the new clause at this time. I hope that it will continue to be explored, so that the onus is put on to big tobacco, not the taxpayer, for paying for the damage caused by these products.

Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Second sitting)

Debate between Mary Kelly Foy and Preet Kaur Gill

Committee stage
Tuesday 30th April 2024 Public Bill Committees

[Mary Kelly Foy]

David, do you want to add anything?

Cllr Fothergill: I think Greg summed that up perfectly.

[Preet Kaur Gill]

Q Why do you support the complete ban as opposed to raising the age from 18 to 21, as many people often say? I know the Khan review has talked about not getting to a smoke-free future if we did that, but is there anything you would like to say about that?

Greg Fell: Years and years ago, the narrative was about raising the age of sale to 21, but I think the evidence has shifted. I hear from a number of stakeholders and sources that the tobacco industry is targeting its public relations at slightly older young people—the 18 to 25 age group. If you were to stop at 21, the tobacco industry would just change its marketing and you would therefore get a new target group recruited into smoking. Nobody thinks that that is a good idea, so the evidence is shifting.

The ban sets a really important norm. We can all remember walking out of a pub smelling of cigarettes. We cannot imagine that now, so continually shifting the norm changes population behaviour just by norm shifting, which is important and often underplayed. I would support the lifting lid—I think that is the right phrase.

Cllr Fothergill: I think Greg is absolutely right. At the LGA, we support the progressive lifting of the age as opposed to raising it to 21. We think that is the right way to go. It will then move through the population over a number of years rather than just being static at a single point.