{"id":238311,"date":"2023-10-10T12:17:28","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=238311"},"modified":"2023-10-10T12:17:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:17:28","slug":"labour-vows-to-back-rishi-sunaks-smoking-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/world-news\/labour-vows-to-back-rishi-sunaks-smoking-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour vows to back Rishi Sunak&apos;s smoking ban"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Labour vows to bail out Rishi Sunak by supporting his plan for a New Zealand-style rolling ban on smoking to get it past opposition from backbench Tories and into law<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said Labour MPs would back the ban\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>They will be whipped to support the new law in the Commons<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Labour today tried to stoke tensions in the Conservative Party by vowing to support Rishi Sunak&#8217;s plan to bring in a rolling ban on smoking.<\/p>\n<p>Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told a Labour conference fringe event on cancer care that opposition MPs will be whipped to back the PM&#8217;s plan, which would see a gradual increase in the age at which people can buy tobacco products.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Sunak has allowed Tories a free vote on the subject, with many backbenchers, including his predecessor Liz Truss, saying it is illiberal.<\/p>\n<p>It means that the law could pass the Commons only with the support of the opposition, if the Tory rebellion is large enough.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mr Streeting said: &#8216;I know he&#8217;s given Liz (Truss) a free vote because the Conservative Party sadly dances to the tune of Nigel Farage these days, quite literally.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;But the good news I can offer Rishi Sunak is that when it comes to that free vote, Labour will be whipping, we&#8217;ll be whipping in favour and we will deliver the votes he needs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;So this generation of children grow up smoke-free and are in fact even less likely to smoke than they are to vote Conservative.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/11\/76375297-0-image-a-13_1696934789681.jpg\" height=\"452\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told a Labour conference fringe event on cancer care that opposition MPs will be whipped to back the PM&#8217;s plan, which would see a gradual increase in the age at which people can buy tobacco products.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/11\/76162689-0-Allies_of_Ms_Truss_Mr_Sunak_s_predecessor_said_that_she_would_vo-a-12_1696934782691.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Allies of Ms Truss, Mr Sunak&#8217;s predecessor, said that she would vote against the change when it is put to MPs. It is to be treated as a &#8216;conscience vote&#8217; by the Tories, meaning MPs do not have to follow a party line.<\/p>\n<h3>How have UK laws changed on smoking?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>1965 <\/span>&#8211; Cigarette TV adverts banned<\/p>\n<p><span>1971 <\/span>&#8211; Tobacco industry voluntarily agrees to include health warnings on cigarette packs<\/p>\n<p><span>1974 <\/span>&#8211; Government asks the tobacco industry to allocate some of its advertising budget to health education<\/p>\n<p><span>1981<\/span> &#8211; Cigarette taxation increased by 14p on a packet of 20<\/p>\n<p><span>1984 <\/span>&#8211; Smoking is banned on London Underground trains<\/p>\n<p><span>1990 <\/span>&#8211; Government introduces larger EC-mandated health warnings on packets<\/p>\n<p><span>1991 <\/span>&#8211; New laws tighten up restrictions on sale of cigarettes to under-16s<\/p>\n<p><span>1998<\/span> &#8211; EU directive to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship<\/p>\n<p><span>2002 <\/span>&#8211; Parliament passes UK tobacco advertising ban<\/p>\n<p><span>2006 <\/span>&#8211; Scotland bans smoking in nearly all workplaces and enclosed public places, including pubs and clubs<\/p>\n<p><span>2007 <\/span>&#8211; Smoking ban in England comes into force, legal age for purchasing tobacco is raised from 16 to 18<\/p>\n<p><span>2012 <\/span>&#8211; Tobacco is banned from display in large stores<\/p>\n<p><span>2014 <\/span>&#8211; Buying cigarettes for anyone under 18 is made an offence, while the Government gets new powers to introduce standardised packaging<\/p>\n<p><span>2015<\/span> &#8211; Ban on displaying tobacco in small shops comes into force, while MPs vote in favour of a ban on smoking in cars with children<\/p>\n<p><span>2019 <\/span>&#8211; Government makes commitment for England to be smoke-free by 2030<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister used his Conservative Party Conference speech to unveil plans to change tobacco laws in the same way as New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>It would see the current age limit of 18 rise by a year every 12 months and would mean anyone aged 14 or younger now will never be old enough to legally purchase fags.<\/p>\n<p>Health groups and cancer charities lauded the announcement and said it would save thousands of lives from cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ministers have previously set an objective for England to be smoke-free by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Labour has previously indicated it would look at a New Zealand-style ban.<\/p>\n<p>In January, MrStreeting said the party would consult on phasing out the sale of cigarettes as part of &#8216;fresh radical thinking&#8217; to ease pressures on the NHS.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand is set to implement new laws this year that will make it illegal for anyone born\u00a0after 2008 to be sold tobacco.<\/p>\n<p>In what is believed to be the first such legislation in the world, the annually rising legal smoking age is aimed at preventing the country&#8217;s next generation from ever taking up smoking.<\/p>\n<p>But thinktanks and smoking rights groups reacted with anger to the ban proposed by Mr Sunak, labelling it as &#8216;hideously illiberal and unconservative&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Allies of Ms Truss, Mr Sunak&#8217;s predecessor, said that she would vote against the change when it is put to MPs. It is to be treated as a &#8216;conscience vote&#8217;, meaning they do not have to follow a party line.<\/p>\n<p>Downing Street\u00a0could not specify when a free vote on the crackdown on buying cigarettes will be held, but the Prime Minister\u2019s press secretary last week said: &#8216;Rishi Sunak is a man in a hurry.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The PM also announced a crackdown on vaping amongst children promising to look at banning child-friendly flavours and packaging that encourage kids to pick up the habit. Disposable devices are also in the firing line.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mr Sunak&#8217;s announcement comes after a major review last year led by Dr Javed Khan backed England following in the footsteps of New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Khan recommended &#8216;increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no-one can buy a tobacco product in this country&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>In his Government-commissioned report published in June 2022, Dr Khan said that without urgent action, England would miss the 2030 &#8216;smoke-free&#8217; target by at least seven years, with the poorest areas not meeting it until 2044.<\/p>\n<p>He put the annual cost to society of smoking at about \u00a317billion \u2013 \u00a32.4billion to the NHS alone.<\/p>\n<p>The legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products in England and Wales is 18, having been raised from 16 in 2007 by the previous Labour government.<\/p>\n<p>Ministers were originally wary of the proposal, citing concerns of imposing a &#8216;nanny-state&#8217; policy on the public.<\/p>\n<p>However, surveys have suggested the majority of the public support the policy.<\/p>\n<p>A YouGov survey last year showed 57 per cent\u00a0of Brits supported the progressive age-based ban.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12614351\/Labour-vows-Rishi-Sunak-smoking-ban.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Labour vows to bail out Rishi Sunak by supporting his plan for a New Zealand-style rolling ban on smoking to get it past opposition from backbench Tories and into law&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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