Ask your MP to help end cancers caused by smoking
Smoking is still the biggest cause of cancer in the UK.
In the King's Speech on 17 July, it was announced that the UK Government would bring forward legislation on smoking in a new Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
If implemented, this legislation would help prevent the next generation from starting smoking by progressively raising the age of sale of tobacco products.
Nothing would have a bigger impact on reducing the number of preventable deaths in the UK than ending smoking. That's why we were thrilled that the new UK Government committed to introducing this legislation into Parliament.
Now, we want to make sure that it is passed and implemented in all four nations to help create a smokefree UK. But we need your help.
As a constituent, your voice is powerful. It takes just 2 minutes to email your newly elected MP to ask them to support this legislation as it moves through Parliament.
How would this policy work?
The proposed legislation would ensure that people born on or after 1 January 2009 (turning 15 this year) would not legally be sold tobacco in their lifetime. This would be achieved by raising the age of sale of tobacco by one year every year. It won’t prevent anyone born before that date from being sold tobacco in future.
Preventing young people from starting smoking is key to a smokefree UK. That's why 'stopping the start' by raising the age of sale of tobacco has been an important call of our Smokefree UK campaign. There is no safe way to use tobacco, so it is important that the legislation applies to all types of tobacco products.
Didn't MPs already vote in favour of this legislation?
On 16 April, 2024 at a session called Second Reading, MPs voted in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which included legislation to raise the age of sale of tobacco, an important step on the road to a smokefree UK. However, when the general election was called, Parliament had only one week before it was dissolved to pass any outstanding legislation, in a process called ‘wash-up’. Unfortunately, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill had not progressed far enough through the legislative process to be included, and so was not passed.
This general election, we advocated for the next UK Government, regardless of the political party, to re-introduce the legislation to help end cancers caused by smoking. Then, on 17 July, in their first King’s Speech, the new UK Government announced that they would do just that. In order to become law, this legislation will now need to re-start its journey through Parliament.
Does this legislation apply to all four nations?
As health is a devolved matter, in order for each of the devolved nations to introduce the Bill, they will each need to vote on it through a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM). An LCM is the means by which the legislature indicates that it is content for the UK Parliament to pass a law on a devolved matter.
We want to see this legislation implemented across the UK, so that is why we will be calling on all MSPs in Scotland, MSs in Wales, and MLAs in Northern Ireland to support this legislation.
