Chris Whitty has said lobbying by big tobacco “must be tackled head-on” after email evidence emerged of campaign tactics used to pressure MPs to reject Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban bill.
The historic legislation, which bans anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes, will be debated in parliament for the first time on Tuesday.
After the Guardian revealed tobacco companies lobbied politicians in a bid to block the plans, Britain’s chief medical officer has urged MPs to ignore unproven ‘talking points’, saying they come from ‘paid lobbyists’ for ‘very wealthy’ companies that profit from death. and disease.
Highlighting the “big opportunity” MPs had to tackle health inequalities and save billions of pounds in health and economic costs, Whitty said passing the bill would have a “substantial positive impact on preventing disease , disability and death”.
The Tobacco and Vaping Bill would prevent anyone turning 15 this year, or younger, from ever legally buying tobacco products in England.
While it would take decades for some of the positive effects to become apparent, Whitty said many would be immediate, such as reducing asthma attacks in children exposed to secondhand smoke among their peers.
His intervention came after The Guardian revealed that the tobacco industry lobbied MPs to oppose the legislation and instead sought support for raising the smoking age from 18 to 21 in a bid to impose an outright ban on cigarette purchases for the prevent the next generation.
Tobacco company representatives are also trying to convince politicians to support exemptions from the legislation, such as banning cigars.
Whitty wrote in the Guardian that the tobacco industry was “the sole winner of the deaths and illnesses caused by their products”, adding: “Their talking points, usually introduced by paid lobbyists, must be addressed head-on. They try to tie their products to ‘choice’ despite the fact that their sales are based on addiction (removing choice).
“They always claim that illegal cigarette sales will increase if new control measures are introduced, despite the evidence that sales will actually decrease (due to reduced demand).”
Whitty accused the companies of portraying new tobacco products as safe, such as low-tar cigarettes and cigarette filters. “No tobacco product is safe,” he said.
New evidence has emerged of the tactics used to derail the bill. One amendment being pushed would introduce licensing for stores that sell vapes, a measure anti-smoking campaigners say is aimed at delaying passage of legislation by burdening them with add-ons.
MPs were targeted on Friday in emails from lobbyists for British American Tobacco (BAT) – which produces and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products and is Britain’s largest vape manufacturer – with data showing voter support for a suggest such a step.
Labor MP Alex Cunningham, who received an email telling him that voters in Stockton North wanted him to back a vaping sales license, said the tactic was typical of big tobacco.
“What they want to do is frustrate and delay the process,” he said. “No one in my constituency has contacted me about whether I should support one amendment or the other, but it is clear that there is great sympathy for continuing the task of changing the law so that future generations damage caused by smoking can be saved.”
Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said BAT is not proposing a vaping license for the benefit of public health.
“This is purely an attempt by the company to burden the bill with complicated additional measures that will slow down its progress,” she said. “If they can prevent the bill from being introduced into the law before the general election, a new government will have to start from scratch. It is a well-known tactic of the tobacco industry: ‘throwing sand in the gears’.”
Opinion polls are also used to influence the debate. Forest, the self-styled campaign group for smokers’ rights, has urged MPs to reject the bill, describing it as “ageist”.
“If you are a legal adult, it is age-related if you are not given the same rights as adults who may be only a year or two older than you,” says Forest director Simon Clark. He cited a poll showing that 64% of the public thought people should be allowed to buy cigarettes if at age 18 they could drive a car, join the military, own a credit card, buy alcohol and vote .
However, Peter Kellner, former president of YouGov and now a trustee of Ash, criticized the use of “loaded” opinion questions to generate answers that would support the tobacco lobby’s campaign.
“There are all kinds of ways to provoke a response, and one of them is to suggest that there is some kind of cliff that will make people stop smoking and look for a yes or no on that,” he said. “If you ask a question that makes it seem like a sudden change is going to happen, it will tend to evoke a response that is one of resistance.”
A separate YouGov poll for Ash last year found that 75% of the public in England supported the government’s smoke-free ambitions.