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** 26 March 2026
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** UK
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** Legal expert sets out why Tobacco and Vapes Bill is compatible with EU law (#1)
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** GB News attributes fall in tobacco tax revenues to illicit cigarette use (#2)
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** Opinion: Reform UK opposes generational smoking ban amid industry links (#3)
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** Scotland’s smoking ban reduces secondhand smoke but exposure persists (#4)
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** MP backs Tobacco and Vapes Bill to curb illicit sales (#5)
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** Concerns over enforcement of vape shop regulations in Scotland (#6)
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** Government launches consultation on new nutrient profiling model (#7)
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** Health minister announces plans to give mayors more control over health services (#8)
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** UK
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** Legal expert sets out why Tobacco and Vapes Bill is compatible with EU law

In a letter to The Times, EU law experts Professor Amandine Garde and PhD researcher Juan Collado Perez-Llantada address claims by Sir Robert Buckland that the UK’s smoke-free generation policy breaches EU law. Commissioned to produce a legal opinion by Action on Smoking and Health, they state the legislation is likely compatible with EU law, which does not standardise age-of-sale rules and allows member states to set their own limits. They note that suggestions the policy cannot be implemented in Northern Ireland are speculative and echo past tobacco industry strategies that used legal threats to delay or challenge public health measures.

Source: The Times, 25 March 2026

See also: Legally indefensible smoking ban will fracture our Union – The Times ([link removed]) | Does the Smokefree Generation Really Break EU Law? Industry vs Evidence - ASH ([link removed])
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** GB News attributes fall in tobacco tax revenues to illicit cigarette use

GB News reports that UK tobacco tax income fell by 6% between April 2025 and February 2026, despite only a 4% reduction in smoking rates over the same period. Figures from HM Revenue and Customs cited show a £500 million decrease in tobacco tax revenues. The article states that this gap between reduced consumption and falling revenue suggests some smokers may be turning to illicit or duty-free products.

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith argues that higher tobacco duties risk encouraging illegal trade rather than reducing smoking.

Source: GB News, 25 March 2026

See also: Why are UK tobacco sales falling? ([link removed]) - ASH ([link removed])

Editorial note: GB News attribute the fall in tobacco receipts primarily to a growing illicit market, but this is highly misleading. Tobacco sales – and therefore receipts – are falling because fewer people are smoking, and those who smoke are smoking less. The article acknowledges that smoking rates have declined by 4% since April 2025, while receipts have decline by 6%, meaning that falling smoking rates account for two thirds of the drop in receipts. Alongside this, the proportion of smokers who smoke less than once a day has more than doubled since 2019, reaching almost a third of all smokers in 2025. These smokers purchase less tobacco than those who smoke daily. People are also vaping more. For some this is a transition away from tobacco entirely and others ‘dual’ use, substituting some of their smoking for vaping.

Tobacco taxes are considered the single most effective way to reduce smoking rates according to the World Bank ([link removed]) and WHO ([link removed]) . In the UK, tobacco taxes – combined with a comprehensive anti-smuggling strategy – have been highly effective at reducing both smoking prevalence and the illicit trade in tobacco.

The illicit trade may be contributing to falling tobacco receipts, but available data suggests its impact is limited. Data from HMRC shows ([link removed]) that the illicit market is stable as of 2023/24, with the number of illicit cigarettes consumed in the UK declining by almost 90% since 2000 – amounting to 13 billion fewer illicit cigarettes consumed per year. Tobacco companies have a long track record of fuelling concerns about the illicit tobacco trade to further their lobbying efforts, undermine public health policies and maximise their profits.

For more information, see the ASH blog: Why are UK tobacco sales falling? ([link removed])
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** Opinion: Reform UK opposes generational smoking ban amid industry links

In this opinion piece published in Dorset Eye, journalist Douglas James highlights that Reform UK has committed to opposing the generational smoking ban proposed in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. James reports that the party’s position aligns with long-standing tobacco industry arguments, emphasising personal choice, potential enforcement challenges, and concerns over illicit trade.

The piece also draws attention to reported links between Reform UK and tobacco-linked organisations at the party’s 2025 conference, including sponsorship from Japan Tobacco and participation by Forest, a “smokers rights” group that has received funding from the tobacco industry.

James notes that health experts have warned that industry influence can drown out public health voices, while undermining legislation designed to reduce smoking uptake. Reform UK’s stance, the article argues, risks reversing progress on preventing youth smoking and could entrench corporate interests in a way that increases disease, addiction, and healthcare burdens.

Source: Dorset Eye, 25 March 2026
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** Scotland’s smoking ban reduces secondhand smoke but exposure persists

Scotland introduced a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces on 26 March 2006, under the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005.

According to analysis of data from the Scottish Health Survey by researchers Professor Sean Semple and Associate Professor Rachel O'Donnell from the University of Stirling, adult non-smokers inhale 96% less nicotine than before the ban.

Air quality has also improved in bars improved by 86%, hospital admissions for heart attacks fell by 17% after the legislation, and smoking inside private homes declined from 25% in 2012 to under 10% in 2024, though rates remain higher in more deprived areas.

Despite these improvements, nearly one in four non-smokers continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in places not fully covered by the law, including some workplaces, outdoor hospitality areas, and homes. The researchers suggest extending smoke-free measures could help further reduce exposure.

Source: The Independent, 25 March 2026

See also: Smoking ban in Scotland's pubs was a 'PR war' - but has it saved lives? - BBC News ([link removed])
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** MP backs Tobacco and Vapes Bill to curb illicit sales

Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, has expressed support for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, in particular measures allowing trading standards to issue penalties for breaches, closing loopholes on non-nicotine vapes and nicotine pouches, and reinforcing the ban on sales to under-18s.

Morgan has launched a local campaign, “Stop Dodgy Shops,” to build community backing for action against illicit retailers in Portsmouth. The initiative encourages residents and businesses to support enforcement and report illegal activity, particularly sales of unsafe products to children.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting highlighted the bill’s role in reducing harm from tobacco and vape products, including protecting children and vulnerable populations from secondhand smoke exposure.

Source: The News, 24 March 2026
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** Concerns over enforcement of vape shop regulations in Scotland

Scottish Conservatives have criticised the SNP government for issuing only 11 fines to vape shops for safety or registration breaches over the past six years. Fines included nine for unregistered shops and two for operators running businesses without proper registration.

The issue gained attention following a fire at an unregistered vape shop on Union Street in Glasgow, which displaced multiple businesses and highlighted gaps in compliance.

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto says local authorities are responsible for enforcing current tobacco and vape legislation and that the government is considering improvements to the mandatory vape shop register as part of the Tobacco and Vaping Framework.

Source: Scottish Sun, 25 March 2026

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** Government launches consultation on new nutrient profiling model

The government has launched a consultation on an updated nutrient profiling model that will determine which foods are treated as junk food for the purposes of existing advertising and promotion restrictions. The model, first proposed in 2018 but put on hold over concerns about economic impacts on the food industry, would replace total sugars with free sugars and tighten thresholds for sugar and energy density. Ministers have pushed ahead despite fresh calls from manufacturers to delay.

Health minister Sharon Hodgson frames the changes as a way to give parents clearer information and to shift marketing towards healthier options for children, rather than dictating individual food choices.

Chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty stresses that free sugars added or released during processing are a major driver of childhood obesity and argues that applying the updated model to advertising and promotions will curb children’s exposure to less healthy products.

Katharine Jenner of the Obesity Health Alliance supports the overhaul, saying a stronger model is needed so that marketing rules genuinely reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food and encourage companies to make products healthier.

Source: The Grocer, 25 March 2026
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** Health minister announces plans to give mayors more control over health services

In a speech delivered at the University of East London, Health Secretary Wes Streeting outlined recent signs of improvement in NHS performance and acknowledged the ongoing pressures affecting both services and staff morale.

As part of wider structural changes, he announced that new integrated care board chairs in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire will work closely with regional mayors as part of a new integrated approach to health and social care. The new ICB chairs will be like “deputy mayors for health”, giving the mayoralties greater influence over improving population health and testing new approaches to joined up care.

Streeting concluded by calling for renewed confidence in the NHS and its capacity to improve through sustained reform.

Source: Department of Health and Social Care, 25 March 2026
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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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