Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Steve Brine]

I am very happy to meet the group, and the hon. Lady should contact my office. The Home Office is the lead Department for cross-governmental drugs policy, and we obviously released the new cross-Government drugs strategy earlier this year. However, this cannot all be about drugs services and picking up the pieces after things have gone wrong; it can also be about prevention. We should, as somebody once said at this Dispatch Box, understand a little more and condemn a little less.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

This month is Stoptober, and someone who manages to stop smoking for 28 days is five times more likely to quit for good. Legislation is obviously part of this, but perhaps the Minister could update us on what more could be done.

[Steve Brine]

At the last health oral questions, I committed to publishing the new tobacco control plan. I did that on 18 July. We have had a lot of legislation, from this and the previous Government. It is Stoptober, and there has never been a better time to quit. We now need to take that legislation, work with the control plan the Government have published and work it through local authorities and smoking cessation services, because my hon. Friend is absolutely right that where buddying services are used, we have better outcomes.