Last Wednesday (26 March), the Tobacco and Vapes Bill passed into the next stage with a resounding vote in the House of Commons, writes Scott Crosby, the Associate Director, of our Centre for Excellence.
The vote on the whole bill was passed 366 to 41. The Bill now moves to the House of Lords, where the second reading will be on 23 April, directly after the Easter recess.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this legislation. Achievements like this are rare and the culmination of hard work across so many organisations. While there is still much to be done to secure the Bill into law and then to support effective regulations, a significant milestone was passed, bringing us a huge step closer to creating a smokefree generation.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill: Key Measures
| Raising the Age of Sale for Tobacco | A “smokefree generation” approach, increasing the legal age of sale by one year every year. Anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to legally sold tobacco products. Smoking itself will not be criminalised in the bill, and anyone who can legally buy tobacco now will not be prevented from doing so in future. |
| Stronger Controls on Vapes | Provides the government with more regulatory powers over vaping products, including restrictions on marketing, flavours, and packaging to prevent youth appeal. |
| Expanding Smokefree Places | Proposes extending smokefree areas to reduce second-hand smoke exposure in public spaces. However, restrictions on hospitality settings are not included at this stage. |
A Unique Opportunity for Change
The Government has signalled a shift from treatment to prevention, recognising that tobacco addiction remains the greatest preventable driver of disease, disability, and health inequalities, placing a huge strain on the NHS.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect future generations from tobacco—a uniquely harmful product that will kill two-thirds of its customers unless they quit smoking.
Crucially, the bill also addresses the growing concern around youth vaping. While e-cigarettes play a role in helping adult smokers quit, their increasing appeal among young people is a worrying trend. The bill introduces stronger regulations on vape marketing, flavours, and packaging to prevent products from being targeted at children. However, there remains a role for vaping as the most effective quitting aid for smokers. It is therefore vital to maximize regulatory opportunities to curb vaping by young people and non-smokers while ensuring vaping remains an effective quit tool for adult smokers.
Yes to Quit with new campaign
This landmark legislation comes at a pivotal time for our region, coinciding with the launch of our first-ever quit campaign, ‘Yes to Quit’.
This campaign, led by the Centre for Excellence on behalf of Yorkshire and Humber, aims to motivate smokers to make a quit attempt and support them on their journey to quitting, emphasising the benefits of a smokefree life. By combining public engagement, expert support, and real-life success stories, we are ensuring that those who want to quit have access to the resources they need. You can find out more here.
The scale of the challenge in Humber and North Yorkshire
| Smoking Prevalence | Adult smoking prevalence12.7% – 185,000 smokers in NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB; 22.8% of routine and manual workers smoke. |
| Economic Burden | Smoking costs the ICB region £57.2 million annually. |
| Health Impact | 18,494 hospital admissions and 2,541 premature deaths annually due to smoking. |
| Poverty Impact | 89,226 smoking households live in poverty, and 6,797 people are out of work due to smoking. |
| Informal Care Burden | 33,636 people require informal care from family and friends due to smoking-related illness. |
| Maternal Health | 10.1% of women (1,932 annually) smoke at the time of delivery. |
| Mental Health | 41% of people with serious mental illness (SMI) smoke, significantly reducing life expectancy. |
| Respiratory Disease | 86% of all COPD deaths are caused by smoking; 802 people die annually from COPD. |
| Cancer | Smoking causes 27% of cancer deaths; 1,102 people die from smoking-related cancer each year. |
| Cardiovascular Disease | Smoking cessation is embedded in NICE guidelines for hypertension, as smokers’ CVD risk is twice that of non-smokers. |
Amplifying Voices: Community Ambassadors
As part of the drive to highlight the human cost of smoking, residents from Humber and North Yorkshire have stepped forward to share their lived experiences.
They include Gillian.
Gillian was diagnosed with COPD in 2009, shortly after the birth of her youngest son. Despite the challenges, she was adamant in her determination to make positive changes for both herself and her son.
This week, we head off to meet the Public Health Minister and attend the APPG on Smoking and Health, where Gillian and Wendy – another of our ambassadors – will share their powerful stories with MPs. Their lived experiences will highlight the urgent need for continued tobacco control efforts.
The fight is far from over, but with the momentum behind the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the ongoing work to support smokers in Humber and North Yorkshire, we are moving closer to a smokefree generation.