Opposition day on Wednesday, 12 July 2023, in the House of Commons, led by Andrew Gwynne. The answering members were Maria Caulfield, Helen Hayes and Neil O'Brien.

Under-age Vaping

Twentieth opposition day debate (part two). Motion that this House is concerned that children are being inappropriately exposed to e-cigarette promotions and that under-age vaping has increased by 50% in just the last three years; condemns the Government for its failure to act to protect children by voting against the addition of measures to prohibit branding which is appealing to children on e-cigarette packaging during the passage of the Health and Care Act 2022 and for failing to bring forward the tobacco control plan that it promised by the end of 2021; and therefore calls on the Government to ban vapes from being branded and advertised to appeal to children and to work with local councils and the NHS to help ensure that e-cigarettes are being used as an aid to stop smoking, rather than as a new form of smoking.

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 736 cc409-457
Session: 2022-23
Department: Department of Health and Social Care
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions: Andrew Gwynne | 736 c410 (Link to this contribution)
I beg to move,
That this House is concerned that children are being inappropriately exposed...; Stella Creasy | 736 c410 (Link to this contribution)
Like my hon. Friend, I have been horrified to see custard, banana, bubble gum and doughnut-flavou...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 cc410-1 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is a place for banana, custard and even doughnuts, but ...; Daisy Cooper | 736 c411 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the shadow Minister for giving way. I have heard really shocking reports from pa...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 c411 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady makes a powerful case. Those are precisely the reasons why we have called this deba...; Baroness Keeley | 736 c411 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is making a very effective speech to open this debate. He quoted the figure of 30%...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 c411 (Link to this contribution)
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. As a Greater Manchester MP, I see the problem in my constit...; Gareth Johnson | 736 c412 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the shadow Minister for giving way; he is making a very good speech. No one in t...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 c412 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and later in my speech I will discuss the fact that vapin...; Lord Whitehead | 736 c412 (Link to this contribution)
I am sure my hon. Friend has seen the study by King’s College London and Action on Smoking and He...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 cc412-3 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for succinctly stating the reason for this debate. That study is ...; Tonia Antoniazzi | 736 c413 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Only yesterday, I had a call from a head of year in...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 c413 (Link to this contribution)
Absolutely. There has to be a strategy that is not just about restricting packaging and advertisi...; Caroline Nokes | 736 c413 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is making an interesting and important speech, but he is focusing on advertisi...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 cc413-4 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Lady is absolutely right. We tabled the motion because we believe that the action ...; Caroline Ansell | 736 c414 (Link to this contribution)
I agree with the shadow Minister that this is an increasingly serious issue that we must arrest. ...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 cc414-5 (Link to this contribution)
Of course education has a role. When I went to secondary school, we were educated about the harms...; Neil O'Brien | 736 cc415-6 (Link to this contribution)
Protecting children from the risks of vaping is a key Government priority. We regulate vaping, wi...; Stella Creasy | 736 c416 (Link to this contribution)
I know that the Minister is committed to closing that loophole that allows vaping companies to gi...; Neil O'Brien | 736 c416 (Link to this contribution)
We are trying to stop access to vapes for the under-18s—it is literally illegal. We are trying no...; Daisy Cooper | 736 c417 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister said that this is “literally illegal”. According to the director general of the UK V...; Neil O'Brien | 736 cc417-8 (Link to this contribution)
I completely agree with the hon. Lady on that point; this is exactly what our enforcement squad i...; Baroness Keeley | 736 c418 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister will have heard the figures given earlier: my hon. Friend the Member for Denton and ...; Neil O'Brien | 736 c418 (Link to this contribution)
The theme of my speech is that we have already taken action and we will continue to take action, ...; Andrew Gwynne | 736 c419 (Link to this contribution)
What we are here to talk about today is advertising and packaging. I made it very clear in my con...; Neil O'Brien | 736 c419 (Link to this contribution)
Act robustly? I think we all want to act robustly. The shadow Minister said in his speech that he...; Daisy Cooper | 736 c419 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister will know that the Government commissioned the Khan review, which reported on 9 June...; Neil O'Brien | 736 c419 (Link to this contribution)
On driving up support for people to Swap to Stop, we are following the recommendations. On the th...; Rachael Maskell | 736 c419 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, because I want to turn to the evidence. We know tha...; Neil O'Brien | 736 cc419-420 (Link to this contribution)
We are garnering evidence on every different aspect of this policy question. In my remarks today,...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 c420 (Link to this contribution)
It is very welcome that we are here today. There is surely nobody in this place who thinks that w...; Dave Doogan | 736 c420 (Link to this contribution)
I am greatly relieved that my hon. Friend has touched on the environmental consequences. I realis...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 cc420-1 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and am delighted that he is as enraged as I am about the harm th...; Caroline Johnson | 736 c421 (Link to this contribution)
Would the hon. Lady be similarly outraged to know that the same company supports St Helens rugby ...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 cc421-4 (Link to this contribution)
I would be equally outraged. I know how much work the hon. Lady does in this regard. I am unsurpr...; Nigel Evans | 736 c423 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
4.52 pm; Steve Brine | 736 c423 (Link to this contribution)
As the Chair of said Committee, I am very conscious of the importance of these issues, and I am p...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 c423 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way as he is getting into the meat of his speech. ...; Steve Brine | 736 cc423-7 (Link to this contribution)
Yes, I do. I suspect that point may be raised later in the debate by one of my fellow Committee m...; Virendra Sharma | 736 cc427-8 (Link to this contribution)
I am thankful that those on the Labour Front Bench chose this important topic for debate. We have...; Caroline Nokes | 736 cc428-431 (Link to this contribution)
It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) and to be able to spea...; Mary Glindon | 736 cc431-2 (Link to this contribution)
It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes...; Neil Hudson | 736 cc432-3 (Link to this contribution)
I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. My apologies, Mr Deputy Speaker, for arriving...; Mary Glindon | 736 cc433-4 (Link to this contribution)
I do think it would. I also think vaping products are currently an attraction for shopkeepers to ...; Maggie Throup | 736 cc434-5 (Link to this contribution)
If I may, I would like to ask Members to visualise the following scenario. The world is emerging ...; Mary Kelly Foy | 736 cc435-6 (Link to this contribution)
I declare my interest as a vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health....; Peter Gibson | 736 cc436-8 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome this debate on a hugely important issue that gives rise to related concerns. Recent res...; Neil Hudson | 736 c438 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech articulating the risks of vapes in terms of the public...; Peter Gibson | 736 c438 (Link to this contribution)
As an expert on animals, my hon. Friend will be acutely aware of the risks to animals of ingestin...; Paulette Hamilton | 736 cc438-9 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friends on the Front Bench for choosing this important topic for debate.
I ...; Caroline Johnson | 736 cc439-440 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Labour Front-Bench team for a great choice of debate today. I thank, too, all those M...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 c440 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. Does she agree that the whole way these things are d...; Caroline Johnson | 736 cc441-2 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady is right: these things are incredibly difficult to recycle, and since 70% of childr...; Richard Foord | 736 cc442-3 (Link to this contribution)
I join Members from across the House in expressing concern about the way in which vaping is marke...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 c443 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member is making an excellent speech. It is very helpful of him to point out the constru...; Richard Foord | 736 cc443-4 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the hon. Member. I also pay tribute to other constituents of mine: many of the y...; Jerome Mayhew | 736 c444 (Link to this contribution)
One of the great pleasures of being tail-end Charlie in these debates is that one has the opportu...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 c444 (Link to this contribution)
That’s what they all say!; Jerome Mayhew | 736 c444 (Link to this contribution)
As the hon. Lady says, that is what they all say. Obviously that is wholly inappropriate, but par...; Caroline Johnson | 736 c444 (Link to this contribution)
The cost is indeed important, both in pricing children out of the pocket money market and in ensu...; Jerome Mayhew | 736 cc444-5 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful for that intervention. I do not have skin in the game about whether it is better to...; Kirsten Oswald | 736 c445 (Link to this contribution)
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?; Baroness Winterton of Doncaster | 736 c445 (Link to this contribution)
Order. I would gently say that the hon. Lady has made a long contribution, and I do have two othe...; Jerome Mayhew | 736 c445 (Link to this contribution)
Thank you for that indication, Madam Deputy Speaker.
To wrap up my submissions, I will say ...; Alex Cunningham | 736 cc445-6 (Link to this contribution)
I draw attention to my role as a vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and h...; Peter Gibson | 736 c446 (Link to this contribution)
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?; Alex Cunningham | 736 cc446-7 (Link to this contribution)
No, I will not.
Yes, something may change in the future, but we need action now. I think th...; Peter Gibson | 736 c447 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Gentleman is making an impassioned speech, which includes a great deal of discussion abo...; Alex Cunningham | 736 cc447-8 (Link to this contribution)
That is an interesting question. I would not personally want to see the advertising of vapes on L...; Rachael Maskell | 736 cc448-450 (Link to this contribution)
Twenty-nine years ago I handed in my dissertation for my degree. It was focused on tobacco advert...; Baroness Winterton of Doncaster | 736 c449 (Link to this contribution)
I call the shadow Minister.
6.36 pm; Helen Hayes | 736 cc449-451 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in what has been a largely c...; Caroline Johnson | 736 c451 (Link to this contribution)
The brain develops gradually over time, and is thought to continue developing in people until the...; Helen Hayes | 736 cc451-2 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member speaks from her experience on this issue. We have set out a motion containing som...; Maggie Throup | 736 c452 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member talks about children and 18 to 25-year-olds. What age does she think is appropria...; Helen Hayes | 736 c452 (Link to this contribution)
The current law prohibits the sale of vapes to under-18-year-olds. We are not proposing a change ...; Peter Gibson | 736 c453 (Link to this contribution)
I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. She has taken a number of interventions from ...; Helen Hayes | 736 c453 (Link to this contribution)
I am sure Members across the House do not need much help from me to identify the definition of a ...; Maria Caulfield | 736 cc453-4 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the many right hon. and hon. Members who have made a valuable contribution to this aftern...; Mary Glindon | 736 c454 (Link to this contribution)
Will the Minister confirm that the statement made in the 2015 evidence update by Public Health En...; Maria Caulfield | 736 cc454-5 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the hon. Lady for that point, which my hon. Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hyke...; Mark Eastwood | 736 c455 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the consultation to tackle this problem, but will the Minister confirm that any appropr...; Maria Caulfield | 736 c455 (Link to this contribution)
That is the balance we have to create. We do not want unintended consequences whereby we reduce t...; Caroline Johnson | 736 c455 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister is talking about evidence that vapes are much safer, but I notice that she has not u...; Maria Caulfield | 736 c456 (Link to this contribution)
The evidence is there that vapes are considerably safer than smoking, and that was borne out in t...; Alex Cunningham | 736 c456 (Link to this contribution)
Will the Minister give a timescale for when the Government will introduce plain packaging for vap...; Maria Caulfield | 736 c456 (Link to this contribution)
As I just said and as the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the...; Rachael Maskell | 736 c456 (Link to this contribution)
I raised the issue of addiction; although the Minister has said that vaping products are safer, d...; Maria Caulfield | 736 cc456-7 (Link to this contribution)
We have to consider the evidence and that is not necessarily what the evidence says. NHS England ...
Subjects: Children Advertising Environment protection Health education Protection Misuse Packaging Marketing Sales Schools Regulation Retail trade Tobacco Smoking Electronic cigarettes Public health Nicotine Making Smoking Obsolete Independent Review Age assurance
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

Under-age Vaping

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