Asked by: Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to regulate the marketing and advertising of tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the use of nicotine pouches is currently low among adults, it is increasingly popular with younger male audiences. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and we have a duty to protect children and young people from potential harms.
In October 2023, the Government and the devolved administrations launched the smokefree generation and youth vaping consultation which considered whether consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, should come under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes.
We have now published our response, which outlines measures to regulate the promotion and marketing of nicotine pouches, by restricting the flavours, packaging, and where nicotine pouches can be displayed in store. We have also committed to bring forward regulations to introduce an age of sale for these products of 18 years old or above. We will introduce the legislation as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of high-profile use of snus on young people's health.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the UK market. Alternative tobacco-free products exist, such as nicotine pouches, which are sometimes referred to as snus. Research suggests that, although nicotine pouch use is low among adults, with 0.26% or 1 in 400 users in Great Britain, it is increasingly popular with younger male audiences. We will continue to monitor the evidence on these products.
In our recent consultation, Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, the Government explored whether further regulatory measures are needed for other nicotine consumer products such as nicotine pouches. The consultation closed on 6 December 2023 and we will publish a consultation response shortly.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, published on 8 November 2023, whether it is her policy to include snus tobacco products in these proposals.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes approximately one in four cancer deaths. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. That is why we will introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in this parliamentary session to create the first smokefree generation and crack down on youth vaping
In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched a public consultation on the smokefree generation and youth vaping. For the smokefree generation policy, where tobacco products would not be sold to those who turned 15 years old or younger this year, the consultation included a question on whether respondents agreed with the proposed approach to mirror the existing age of sale legislation in England and Wales. This included:
- cigarettes;
- cigarette papers;
- hand rolled tobacco;
- cigars;
- cigarillos;
- pipe tobacco;
- waterpipe tobacco products, for example, shisha;
- chewing tobacco;
- heated tobacco;
- nasal tobacco; and
- herbal smoking products.
The consultation response will be published shortly
As outlined in command paper published on 4 October 2023, our position is that all tobacco products are harmful, and the evidence is clear that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption. Tobacco smoke from shisha and cigars lead to the same types of diseases as cigarette smoke. Snus is banned in the UK and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the UK market.
Vapes are tobacco-free so outside the proposed scope of the smokefree generation policy. In our consultation, we asked questions about policies which have the potential to reduce the appeal, availability, and affordability of vaping to children. It is clear that vaping is totally unsuitable for children. However, we want to ensure that vapes remain available as a smoking cessation tool for adult smokers given the lesser harms posed to smokers from vaping.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made the long-term medical effects of using oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Oral tobacco, otherwise known as snus, is banned in the United Kingdom under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. Prevalence of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches remains low, with data from Action on Smoking and Health in 2022 showing that 3.9% of adults had ever tried nicotine pouches.
There is limited research and evidence into the harms of nicotine pouches and their ability to support smoking quit attempts. However, we will continue to monitor the evidence. Whilst there is currently no age of sale restrictions on nicotine pouches, manufacturers do print age restrictions on their packs.
In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched the smokefree generation and youth vaping consultation. This included consideration of whether consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, should come under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. The consultation response will be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate the use of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Oral tobacco, otherwise known as snus, is banned in the United Kingdom under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. Prevalence of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches remains low, with data from Action on Smoking and Health in 2022 showing that 3.9% of adults had ever tried nicotine pouches.
There is limited research and evidence into the harms of nicotine pouches and their ability to support smoking quit attempts. However, we will continue to monitor the evidence. Whilst there is currently no age of sale restrictions on nicotine pouches, manufacturers do print age restrictions on their packs.
In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched the smokefree generation and youth vaping consultation. This included consideration of whether consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, should come under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. The consultation response will be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of the use of (1) oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches and (2) oral tobacco pouches, in England, especially among children and teenagers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Oral tobacco, otherwise known as snus, is banned in the United Kingdom under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. Prevalence of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches remains low, with data from Action on Smoking and Health in 2022 showing that 3.9% of adults had ever tried nicotine pouches.
There is limited research and evidence into the harms of nicotine pouches and their ability to support smoking quit attempts. However, we will continue to monitor the evidence. Whilst there is currently no age of sale restrictions on nicotine pouches, manufacturers do print age restrictions on their packs.
In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched the smokefree generation and youth vaping consultation. This included consideration of whether consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, should come under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. The consultation response will be published shortly.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is her Department's policy to restrict the future availability of Snus and vapes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The sale of oral tobacco, such as Snus, is banned in the United Kingdom under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.
Vapes are less harmful than smoking because they do not contain tobacco, and therefore can be an effective tool in supporting smoking cessation. Vaping is already estimated to contribute to an extra 50,000 to 70,000 smoking quits per year in England. Ensuring that vapes continue to be available to current adult smokers is vital to reducing smoking rates.
However, the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past 3 years. To tackle this, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will introduce measures to restrict the appeal and availability of vapes to children.
To support this, we recently consulted on a set of proposals to reduce youth vaping, ensuring we get the balance right between protecting our children and supporting adult smokers to quit. We will respond to the consultation in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the consultation entitled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, published on 12 October 2023, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of including heated tobacco products within these proposals on levels of smoking cessation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is responsible for around 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes approximately one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 years old or younger this year will never be legally sold tobacco products.
All tobacco products are harmful. The new legislation proposes to mirror existing age of sale legislation which includes any product containing tobacco, both smoked and smokeless, and intended for oral or nasal use, and cigarette papers. Our consultation to gather views on our proposals and their implementation closed on 6 December 2023.
We will publish our Impact Assessment shortly.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to address the use of sweet flavoured nicotine powders by minors.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Oral nicotine pouches are white pouches containing nicotine and other ingredients, including flavourings, and do not contain tobacco. Nicotine powder is the raw ingredients within the pouch.
Prevalence of nicotine pouches remains low, and whilst there is currently no age of sale restrictions on nicotine pouches, manufacturers do print age restrictions on their packs.
The UK Government and devolved administrations recently launched a consultation on our proposals for a smokefree generation. This includes consideration of whether the government should regulate other consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. The consultation is available at the following link:
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Question 135 of his oral evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on 20 June 2023, HC 1093, whether his Department plans to implement the recommendation in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities report entitled Nicotine Vaping in England: 2022 evidence update summary, published on 29 September 2022, by requesting that the Committee on Toxicity update their review, entitled Statement on the toxicological evaluation of novel heat-not-burn tobacco products, published in December 2017.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no current plans to request the Committee on Toxicity to update their review on heat-not-burn tobacco products. However, the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities will continue to monitor international evidence related to the health harms of these products.