Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a ban on the (a) marketing and (b) advertising of (i) e-cigarette and vaping products, (ii) non-medically licensed nicotine products and (iii) heated tobacco products on the number of adults switching from cigarettes to alternatives.

The health advice is clear that vaping is only recommended for adult smokers who wish to quit smoking. Youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years with one in four children aged between 11 and 15 years old having tried vaping in 2023. It is unacceptable that vapes are deliberately promoted and advertised to children, and this must be stopped to prevent future generations from being hooked on nicotine.

The Government has published a thorough impact assessment of the measures included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including the prohibition on the advertising of vaping products and nicotine products.

Public health messaging and campaigns will continue to support the promotion of vapes as a quit aid for smokers, as outlined on the Better Health and National Health Service websites. Additionally, the Government is committed to supporting smokers to quit, through a range of services. We are investing an additional £70 million in 2025/26 for local Stop Smoking Services in England and are working to ensure all NHS hospitals offer ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation purposes.

All tobacco products are harmful to health. There is evidence of toxicity from heated tobacco in laboratory studies. The aerosol generated by heated tobacco also contains carcinogens, and there will be a risk to the health of anyone using these products.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products, and that prohibition applies to tobacco products intended to be smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed. It is the Department’s view that the legislation applies to any tobacco product, regardless of when it was developed, and that heated tobacco products and the heating device to be used with it are caught under this legislation.