Tobacco and Vapes Bill – update on amendments

The Tobacco and Vapes Public Bill Committee is meeting again today.

Members are discussing amendments to the Bill, including several that are potentially of interest or concern to consumers.

One, for example, would 'prohibit the manufacture, design and retail sale of high-capacity count vaping devices'.

Another would ban the 'manufacture and sales of high-strength nicotine pouches'.

A third would ban 'the supply of cigarette filters which contain plastic or cigarettes containing cigarette filters which contain plastic'.

You may not be too fussed about those amendments, but what about the amendment that 'requires the Secretary of State to make regulations which would extend the existing prohibition on smoking in vehicles to all enclosed vehicles except ships and hovercraft which are regulated under other legislation. The prohibition currently only applies to workplace vehicles and vehicles carrying under 18s'.

If adopted, this amendment could ban smoking in all private cars.

Meanwhile another amendment 'would extend the power to designate areas as smoke-free to certain local authorities, by making byelaws'.

In other words, 'certain local authorities' might be given the power to ban smoking in just about any designated area that takes their fancy – including beer gardens.

Interestingly, the latter was the subject of a written question tabled recently by Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thursk and Malton, who asked the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, 'with reference to page 99 of the English Devolution White Paper, CP 1218, whether councils will be able to ban smoking in public places under the new byelaw powers'.

I'm not sure why he asked that question but, in response, Jim McMahon, the minister for local government and English devolution, replied:

The government will work with councils to determine how byelaws should be made and whether byelaw making powers should be extended to Strategic Authorities, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will extend smoke-free designation to outdoor places including outside schools, children’s playgrounds and hospitals but not to outdoor hospitality settings or wider open spaces like beaches. The proposed reforms under the Bill will be subject to a full consultation, and we want to hear the views of people from across the country on this to ensure we get it right. As drafted, the Bill does not give any additional powers to local authorities.

Last year Hollinrake was strongly opposed to a ban on smoking in beer gardens and outdoor terraces, so his question suggests that he too is worried that the smoking ban could be extended to designated outdoor areas via local authorities if not central government.

That, of course, is the debate that took place when the previous (Conservative) government introduced its Business and Planning Bill in July 2020, following the first Covid lockdown.

That Bill was designed to reduce red tape in order to help businesses recover more quickly from the impact of the pandemic, but anti-smoking peers saw an opportunity to ban smoking in the new licensed pavement areas that had sprung up all over the country.

Robert Jenrick, the then business secretary, stood reasonably firm on the issue. Nevertheless, he was forced to compromise and give local authorities the power to deny licences to businesses that wanted to allow smoking in new licensed pavement areas.

Thanks to Jenrick a national ban was averted, and to date fewer than a dozen local authorities in England have taken advantage of the power that was given them, but it remains a threat, not least because Labour supported a ban on smoking in new licensed pavement areas.

We knew then that the issue wouldn’t go away, which is why we are monitoring the progress of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and amendments like this.

Giving local authorities the power to extend the smoking ban to outdoor areas wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I am reminded of what happened when it was suggested, 20 years ago, that instead of a national ban, local authorities should be given the power to ban smoking in pubs.

Driven by the big pub companies, the pub industry argued that a national ban would be easier for them to implement - less admin, I suppose, dealing with central government rather than negotiating with numerous local authorities – and the same could happen again.

As soon as I discover the fate of these amendments I'll let you know.