Lib Dem MP proposed raising age of sale of tobacco to 25

The Tobacco and Vapes Public Bill Committee has been meeting to discuss and debate amendments to the Bill.

There will be a further two sittings today.

The biggest surprise so far was the amendment, submitted by Helen Maguire, the Lib Dem MP for Epsom and Ewell, to raise the age of sale of tobacco to 25.

It was a surprise because many of us were expecting an amendment to raise the age of sale from 18 to 21. Where 25 came from I’m not quite sure but the gist of the argument seemed to be that, as most smokers start when they are young, extending the legal age of sale to 25 should more than cover that age group so there is no need for a generational ban. (I paraphrase.)

Maguire is not on the public bill committee, and cannot therefore move amendments in Committee, so it was moved on her behalf by Dr Caroline Johnson, the Conservative shadow health minister.

Johnson, who supports the generational ban, made it clear she didn’t support Maguire's amendment but felt it should be debated "so that hon. Members can establish for themselves whether they wish to support" it.

"Although the amendments were tabled by a Member who is not a member of my party, and I do not actually agree with them, I want to ensure that they get a proper hearing."

To be clear, had Maguire's amendment been passed (spoiler alert: it wasn’t) it would have replaced the generational tobacco sales ban.

When it came to a vote it was supported by just two members of the Committee, Jack Rankin and Sarah Bool, two of the four Conservatives on the Committee, with 14 against. (Johnson and Gregory Stafford, the fourth Conservative on the Committee, both voted against.)

Neither of the two Lib Dems on the Committee (Liz Jarvis and Danny Chambers) supported their colleague's amendment, and I'm guessing the only reason Bool and Rankin voted for it is because they concluded that raising the age of sale to 25 was marginally better than a generational ban, which they oppose.

Nevertheless, fair play to the pair of them. Their voices have been loud and clear. Rankin, in particular, has spoken at length, often opposing his Conservative colleague, Caroline Johnson, who is an enthusiastic supporter of further tobacco control measures.

But I'll come back to those blue on blue divisions in another post. I'll return too to some of the other amendments that, if adopted, might be cause for concern.

In the meantime Forest’s written submission to the Committee has now been posted on the Parliament website. The full list (there are currently 53 written submissions) can be found here.