Rt Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom MP is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care.
Today, MPs will vote for the first time on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill as it reaches Second Reading. Much has been said by those passionately for and against the Bill and as the minister marshalling it through parliament, I want to add my contribution to the debate by making the positive Conservative case for reform.
To recap, this legislation will create a Smokefree Generation by preventing anyone born after January 2009 being sold a cigarette and take powers to clamp down on the worrying rise of youth vaping.
All politicians, from all parties, talk about the need to shift to a prevention first mindset. It has become a truism – preventing people from getting ill instead of treating at the point of disease allows people to live longer, healthier lives.
We just need to be brave enough to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
The size of the prize here is a big one. Smoking is still the number one preventable cause of death, disability, and ill health, causing around 80,000 deaths per year across the UK. Creating a smokefree generation will cut the number of cases of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases by 470,000 by 2100.
There is no safe level of smoking and for non-smokers exposed to second hand smoke are also in harm’s way, through no choice of their own. Non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke which means that through no choice of their own many come to harm – in particular children, pregnant women, and their babies.
Many readers will know how passionate I am about early years outcomes. The period from conception to age two is when the building blocks for lifelong health are laid down, and second-hand smoke takes a wrecking ball to that pathway.
And this isn’t just a question of the nation’s health. As a Conservative, I want to see a smaller state and to deliver on our goal to reduce the tax burden. It is too high and without serious intervention, it will rise higher. In true Conservative fashion, I believe we must focus on prevention so that we can bring down the tax burden sustainably.
In the bill we are also taking powers to reduce the attractiveness of vaping to children. While vapes can be an effective quit tool for adult smokers, we know that youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and 1 in 5 children have now tried a vape.
Vapes are being deliberately targeted at children to get them addicted early to nicotine, and we have to stop that. So, we are acting by taking powers to reduce their attractiveness to young people whilst also bringing in much tougher enforcement measures to tackle underage vaping sales.
I have seen myself that disposable vapes are rotting in hedgerows and water courses across the country, and blighting our high streets, so we are moving to ban them altogether.
Today marks the first time my colleagues can vote on this historic legislation. How we choose to act now will reflect on us for generations to come. I am confident colleagues from across our party will support it.
The post Andrea Leadsom: The Conservative case for a Smokefree Generation appeared first on Conservative Home.
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Author: Andrea Leadsom MP
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