Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of diverging from the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive in favour of progressive tobacco harm reduction policies that support the Government's levelling up agenda.

No formal assessment has been made but I have received correspondence on this matter from members of the public in response to my requests to readers of the Sun and the Sunday Express. It is for the Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to consider any changes to the policy. As set out in the ‘Benefits of Brexit’ paper, published on 31 January, DHSC will set out proposals for regulatory reforms in a new Tobacco Control Plan due to be published later this year.