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** 6 November 2024
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** UK
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** Labour Government will restrict vaping in indoor public places, bright packaging and fruity flavoured vapes (#1)
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** What will the new Tobacco and Vapes bill change? (#2)
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** Comment: I’m a doctor and I disagree with the ban on smoking outside hospitals (#3)
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** Parliamentary activity
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** Tobacco and Vapes Bill (#4)
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** Written questions (#5)
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** UK
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** Labour Government will restrict vaping in indoor public places, bright packaging and fruity flavoured vapes

The UK government is introducing a major crackdown on vaping through new measures included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Key reforms include a ban on indoor vaping in public places, restrictions on brightly coloured packaging and fruity flavours, and a requirement for retailers to obtain a license to sell vapes and tobacco. Non-compliance could result in fines of up to £2,500 or the revocation of licenses. Vapes will also be hidden from view in shops, similar to cigarettes, and there will be a ban on vaping advertising and sponsorship.

Disposable vapes will be banned starting in June 2025 under separate environmental legislation. Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized that the reforms are intended to protect children from nicotine addiction while supporting adult smokers who use vapes as a cessation aid. Youth vaping has surged, with one in four 11- to 15-year-olds having tried vaping in 2023, largely driven by appealing flavours and marketing tactics.

Source: The Daily Mail, 5 November 2024
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**
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** What will the new Tobacco and Vapes bill change?[link removed]

The UK government has introduced a comprehensive Tobacco and Vapes Bill aimed at reducing nicotine addiction, especially among young people. Key provisions of the bill include:

Ban on Flavoured Vapes: Most flavoured e-cigarettes will be banned, with tighter controls on packaging to make them less appealing to children. There's also a push to require plain packaging, similar to tobacco products.

Licensing of Retailers: Shops selling vapes and tobacco will need licenses, akin to alcohol sales, with fines or shutdowns for violations. This aims to prevent underage sales and ensure better product standards.

Advertising Restrictions: All vape advertising will be banned, aligning vape regulations with those for tobacco. Sponsorship of sports, like football, will also be prohibited.

Ban on Smoking and Vaping in Certain Areas: Smoking will be banned near schools and hospitals, and vaping will be restricted in playgrounds and child-centric areas.

Flavour and Packaging Regulations: The government is considering restricting vape flavours, possibly limiting them to a few like tobacco, mint, and fruit, to prevent appealing to children. A public consultation will determine the final rules on this.

Support for Smoking Cessation: While aiming to curb youth vaping, the bill recognizes vaping's role in helping adults quit smoking, ensuring regulations balance public health goals without discouraging smokers from switching to vapes.

Health experts support these measures, viewing them as necessary steps to reduce underage vaping and smoking, while industry representatives welcome the focus on responsible sales practices.

Action on Smoking and Health deputy chief executive, Caroline Cerny emphasised that while vaping has been a crucial tool for helping smokers quit, more regulations are needed to prevent its appeal to teenagers. The new regulations, including a ban on disposable vapes and an excise tax, will give the government better control over the market. She highlighted that new rules on flavours should balance restricting those aimed at children while still encouraging adults to use vapes to quit smoking.

Source: The Times, 5 November 2024
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** Comment: I’m a doctor and I disagree with the ban on smoking outside hospitals

Prof. Karol Sikora, a British oncologist, criticises Labour's plan to ban smoking on hospital grounds, calling it a top-down, nanny-state initiative that ignores the practical realities of hospital life. While acknowledging the harms of smoking, Sikora argues that for many patients, especially those with terminal illnesses, smoking is a “lifeline” which brings comfort and relief during times of distress. He states that smoking is an addiction that cannot simply be abandoned upon hospitalisation and that many patients, even in poor conditions, will still smoke outside hospitals.

Sikora also highlights the logistical issues with the proposed ban, questioning how it will be enforced without placing additional strain on already overburdened NHS staff. He warns that enforcing the ban could lead to the hiring of security teams or the diversion of staff time, both of which would waste resources and add pressure to the healthcare system. He suggests that while banning smoking for visitors could be reasonable, applying such a ban to patients is impractical and unlikely to change overall smoking patterns.

Ultimately, Sikora believes the government should focus on preventing smoking addiction before patients reach the hospital, rather than imposing restrictive policies on hospital grounds.

Source: The Telegraph, 5 November 2024

Editorial note: Quitting smoking, at any time, is beneficial to your health. Prof. Sikora makes the argument that smoking is source of relief to patients. However, the evidence is clear that the opposite is true, with smoking trapping people in a cycle of addiction and withdrawal and worsening ([link removed]) mental health and wellbeing. Quitting smoking is linked with improvements ([link removed]) in mental health and wellbeing comparable to anti-depressants. Quitting also improves range of treatment outcomes, in addition to reducing the risk of serious diseases like cancer and heart disease. Research has shown that smokers are more likely to suffer a range of complications before, during and after surgery. Quitting smoking improves surgical outcomes through reducing risk and complications. Similarly, those who have quit smoking after lung cancer diagnosis can
improve ([link removed](23)00158-5/fulltext) their chance of recovery and reduce the likelihood of the cancer returning or worsening. Smoking exacerbates nearly all long-term conditions and quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of cancer. There is never a bad time to quit smoking. NICE recommends ([link removed]) that all hospitals introduce smokefree policies and most hospitals either already have or are working towards implementing smokefree sites.

See also: ASH - Smoking and Surgery ([link removed]) | Royal College of Physicians - Hiding in plain sight: Treating tobacco dependency in the NHS ([link removed])
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** Parliamentary activity
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** The Tobacco and Vapes bill

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been presented to Parliament by the Government. The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons and given its First Reading on Tuesday 5 November 2024. MPs will next consider the Bill at Second Reading. The date for second reading has not yet been announced.

You can find ASH's press release here ([link removed]) , and coverage of the announcements as things develop via social media @AshOrgUK ([link removed]) on X
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** Written questions

Asked by Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat, North Shropshire ([link removed])

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve public health services focusing on (a) smoking cessation, (b) drug and alcohol and (c) children's health.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne, Labour, Gorton and Denton, Minister for Prevention and Public Health

The Government is committed to improving public health as part of delivering a shift from sickness to prevention. As part of this, the Public Health Grant funds a range of preventative interventions across the country, including local authority-led stop smoking services, local authority-led alcohol and drug treatment services, and services which promote and support children\'s health. The National Health Service\'s 10-Year Health Plan will ensure that children and their families are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. The Government is also delivering additional targeted interventions which will promote public health. On smoking, this includes delivering the national smoke-free pregnancy incentives scheme, and working to ensure that all hospitals integrate opt-out smoking cessation interventions into routine care. For drug and alcohol treatment, the Government continues to invest in improvements to local alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services to
enable people to access high quality help and support, should they need it. In addition, the Government has allocated local authorities a further £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, alongside £105 million made available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people with drug and alcohol problems. The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. There are a range of public health services through which children and their families can access support. This includes the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, which places at its heart preventative health services from conception to the age of two years old, in 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation. In addition, the Healthy Child Programme
provides targeted support, offering universal, personalised services provided by a health visiting team for those aged zero to five years old.

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick, Non-affiliated, Life peer ([link removed])

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the effectiveness of the ban on disposable vapes, particularly regarding black market sales.

Answered by Baroness Merron, Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health, Labour, Life peer

Strong and proportionate enforcement is crucial to the successful implementation of restrictions on vape product sales. The ban on the sale of single use vapes will be enforced by Trading Standards, who will be able to issue a £200 fixed monetary penalty to anyone found to be selling these vapes, and a stop notice ordering the business or individual to cease the illegal activity. If this notice is not complied with, an individual will be guilty of an offense, and will be liable on conviction to an unlimited fine or imprisonment. Trading Standards will also have the power to enter premises to inspect for single use vapes. They will be able to search premises, break open containers, and remove them for disposal. We are discussing with Trading Standards how we can best support their enforcement action, and are working with relevant organisations including local authorities and industry organisations to ensure businesses understand which products are covered by the single use vape ban, and to
ensure that all banned products are removed from shelves ahead of implementation.
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.

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