This evening I have voted for the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill. I would like to explain the rationale behind my vote. This was a free vote.
This Bill sets two important matters of principle against each other. On one hand there is the issue of defending personal choice and freedom, on the other there is the government’s responsibility to care for public health.
We are lucky to live in a country which values and treasures personal freedom, so I am always wary of new bans being imposed on people. But smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer, it costs the NHS and the economy an estimated £17 billion every year, and most people who smoked wish they had never started in the first place. They wish they had never had this choice.
However, I am very mindful that this Bill does not affect most people. It sets out a rolling age limit for tobacco sales and a ban on brightly coloured, multi flavoured vapes targeted at children. This Bill directly affects young people. I thought it was vital that the views of young people were heard.
Therefore, I wrote to all the secondary schools in my Chelmsford constituency and asked their politics students to consider the matter.
I am extremely grateful to the detailed and thoughtful feedback from groups of students from three of these schools, including one group which discussed this with the entire Sixth Form Council.
One group told me that they had a general consensus that a ban on smoking and vapes for young people is a good thing, another said that they had mixed views and the third sent me comments from a large number of individual students in both year 12 and 13.
In this group the number of students supporting the measures in the Bill was more than double those who did not. There was an even greater majority in favour for the measures to limit coloured, flavoured vapes.
The young people gave very detailed comments, including the following points:
• They believe this type of vape products are targeted at children.
• The considerable environmental impact – especially of disposable vapes. They recommended stronger limitations on disposable products than re-usables.
• They recognise that vaping can help adults to quit smoking, and some raised the concern that stronger restrictions on vapes may cause some adults to return to smoking.
• They considered concerns about the lack of knowledge about the long-term impact of vaping especially for younger people.
• Some students considered that fixing a set date of birth for buying tobacco seems somewhat arbitrary and is going to be difficult to enforce, especially as those affected people get older.
• The concern that younger people will still obtain products, both vapes and cigarettes from older people or illegal sources.
• They recognised the need for enforcement measures and pointed out that passing a law does not necessarily change behaviour. In their words “passing a Bill itself does not necessarily mean it will change what current children, teenagers and young adults are doing”.
• They thought about the challenges enforcement can present for retail workers.
• Some of the young people were also concerned that if these items are banned then other, potentially even more dangerous, substances will overtake the usage of these products.
Many of these young people said they valued personal freedom.
These young people had thought through in detail every point that was raised by MPs when debating this matter for over 5 hours this evening.
When asked for their views, and having considered all these issues, the majority of the young people of Chelmsford who responded said that they would support the measures in this Bill.
It is not a unanimous opinion amongst the young people, but, whilst I respect those do not agree, democracy works by majority view.
Therefore, in respect for the views of the young people of my constituency on a matter that directly affects their generation and largely only their generation, I voted in favour of the Bill. I thank them all for sharing their considerations.
PS. I also noted that when the Bill was presented today it comes with extra money and resources to address the enforcement issues raised by the young people, and that since the young people considered the matter, the Government has announced a new specific offence for assaulting a retail worker which may go some way to address the concern about challenges faced by retail workers.
