- Government warns flavor restrictions may prompt 13% of ex-smokers to relapse
- Rishi Sunak’s tobacco measures passed despite intense opposition from MPs
- Plan aims to reduce smoking rates, save lives, and cut healthcare costs
Plans to restrict flavours could cause more than one in ten former smokers who converted to vaping to relapse, according to the government’s impact assessment.
According to research highlighted by the Department of Health, thirteen per cent of vaping ex-smokers would return to cigarettes if flavourings were unavailable.
Last night, Rishi Sunak’s fiercely contested proposal overcame its initial obstacle. The’ mad’ ban was supported by 383 to 67 votes from the members of Parliament.
The measure prohibits individuals born after 2009 from purchasing tobacco. This implies that cigarettes will no longer be sold legally to children under 15 in England.
Vapes are anticipated to be sold in plain, tobacco-style packaging, restricted to four flavours, and concealed from children’s view as part of the same enforcement.
Currently, vapes are commercialised with vibrant packaging and flavours resembling cotton candy, which proponents argue are appealing to children.
Opposition to ‘nanny-state’ policies among MPs and critics is concerned that the prime minister’s flagship strategy for a smoke-free generation’ will fail.
In its impact assessment, the government stated that the 13 percent figure probably represented an “upper limit.”
However, it emphasised estimates that “4% of smokers quit due to vapes, and 33% of smokers said they would not quit and smoke more if flavourings were not available,” citing research from Bristol University.
The impact assessment further stated, “It was estimated that 13% of former smokers vape, and if flavours were not available, another 13% of these former smokers would relapse.”
The evaluation stated that the decision aid tool developed by Bristol University is “based on a scenario in which only three flavours remain on the market.”
Unflavored tobacco and menthol were among these.
“The impact on smokers quitting and ex-smokers relapsing would be diminished if fewer flavours were restricted,” the impact assessment continued.
Additionally, smokers may consider utilising alternative cessation aids, including alternative nicotine replacement therapies.
Mr Sunak’s audacious proposals have historically faced censure from detractors who label them “illiberal.”
Concerning potential crackdowns on sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, some health officials have dubbed the situation a “slippery slope.”
Even former UKIP leader Nigel Farage and former prime minister Boris Johnson, who have referred to the prohibition as “irrational” and “completely insane,” are vocal sceptics.
59 Conservative members of parliament, including six government ministers, opposed the measures last night.
Kemi Badenoch, Steve Baker, and former Cabinet ministers Suella Braverman, Sir Simon Clarke, and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg were among them.
Additionally, more than one hundred Conservatives abstained from casting ballots, leaving only 165 of the cohort’s 347 members in favour of the measure.
Yesterday, in response to the backlash against the prohibition, the chief medical officer of England rejected ‘pro-choice’ arguments.
Conversely, Professor Sir Chris Whitty contended that cigarettes were a commodity “intended to deprive you of agency.”
Meanwhile, Minister of the Home Office Laura Farris stated that she was “not particularly interested in debates regarding freedom.”
The Newbury representative, who began smoking at the age of 12, stated on LBC, “It took me years and years and years to quit.” It is one of my deepest regrets.
“Now that I have two young children, I welcome that they will never be able to walk into a store and purchase a pack of cigarettes.”
“You become hooked.” It is a dreadful habit. And even while engaging in such behaviour, you know the irreparable damage you inflict upon yourself. Furthermore, disembarking is an exceedingly complicated task.
The government anticipates that the phased prohibition, which begins in 2027 and increases the legal age to purchase tobacco by one year annually, will reduce the number of smokers by 1.7 million by 2075.
It is anticipated that the action will prevent up to 115,000 cases of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases, thereby saving tens of thousands of lives.
The smoking prohibition was first advocated for in a report commissioned by the government a year ago by the former chief of a children’s charity, Javed Khan.
He warned that England would miss the’ smoke-free’ objective for 2030 by at least seven years if immediate action were not taken, with the poorest regions failing to meet the goal until 2044.
The strategies are believed to have been influenced by a comprehensive assault devised by the previous New Zealand government.
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However, in November, Christopher Luxon, the country’s new prime minister, declared that he was abandoning the “world first” plan in favour of a U-turn that would finance tax cuts.
Presently, smoking rates in the United Kingdom are at an all-time low of 12.9%, or approximately 6.4 million individuals.
However, smoking is responsible for the deaths of approximately 78,000 individuals annually in the United Kingdom, and a much greater number of people suffer from health conditions as a result of their habit, with cardiovascular diseases accounting for half of these cases (e.g., heart attack and stroke).
Smoking is estimated to be the cause of approximately 500,000 hospital admissions annually in England, at a cost to the economy of £17 billion.
