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Scotland’s Constitution Secretary, Mike Russell, is urging Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to vote against the UK Government’s Internal Market Bill amid repeated claims from Scottish Government ministers that it represents a Westminster “power grab.”
Mr Russell’s claim has been rejected by Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, who is urging the Scottish parliament to support the legislation. Despite this, MSPs seem set to vote against granting legislative consent – although this will not stop the UK Government from pressing ahead with the legislation.
The Bill, which has already been passed by the House of Commons, was introduced to ensure trade between the four nations of the UK can continue to operate smoothly when the Brexit transition period finishes at the end of this year.
Source: Shopshirestar, 07 October 2020
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Councillors debated whether vaping should be treated the same as smoking when it comes to licensing premises in Sheffield. Unlike smoking, rules on vaping vary between venues. While smoking is banned in indoor public spaces, electronic cigarettes are allowed in some pubs, cafes, and restaurants.
The discussion was prompted when officers amended their draft statement of licensing policy to say vaping indoors “isn’t unlawful, just treated in the same way as smoking.” But Councillor Otten said this was unfair. He said: “It’s my view that vaping should generally be allowed on the premises and therefore vapers don’t have to stand outside in the shelter and breathe in second-hand smoke to the detriment of their health and causing noise to the detriment of neighbours.”
NHS England state on their website: “Research into [vaping] is ongoing, but it seems e-cigs release negligible amounts of nicotine into the atmosphere and the limited evidence available suggests any risk from passive vaping to bystanders is small relative to tobacco cigarettes. In England, the Government has no plans to ban vaping indoors (although some employers have banned them in the workplace).”
Source: The Star, 7 October 2020
See also: NHS: Using e-cigarettes to stop smoking
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Illicit cigarettes and tobacco were seized during raids on shops in Boscombe. Dorset Police and Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council’s trading standards department joined forces to carry out targeted visits to premises believed to be involved in the supply of illegal products and anti-social behaviour around their premises.
Officers seized 5,300 illegal cigarettes and several kilos of illicit tobacco worth around £4,000. They were also joined by council civil enforcement officers and the anti-social behaviour team. The investigation is still ongoing.
Source: Daily Echo, 7 October 2020
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The Irish Heart Foundation is urging the government to introduce an excise tax of 6 cents per millilitre on e-cigarette liquid — which would add in the region of 10-25% to the price of e-cigarettes. It is also calling on the government to increase the cost of the most popular price category of cigarettes from its current level of €13.70 to €20 through a series of five annual tax increases.
Chris Macey, Irish Heart Foundation head of advocacy, said e-cigarettes must be priced out of the purchasing reach of children and adolescents, but remain affordable for adults who are using them as a smoking cessation device.
He said: “Any e-cigarette excise tax must be accompanied by a larger increase in tobacco excise tax to ensure users are deterred from moving back to traditional cigarettes, and roll-your-own as the balance of current evidence suggests they are significantly more harmful to health.”
Source: The Times, 06 October 2020
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