Debate contribution: Tobacco and Vapes Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Debate contribution by Mr Alan Robinson on 10 February 2025.

MLA

Mr Alan Robinson

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

10 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Tobacco and Vapes Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4790335

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Like other Members, as a former 30-a-day smoker, I can stand in the House and say that quitting over 15 years ago was the most positive, health-defining decision that I have made. I fell into the category of the almost nine out of 10 people in the UK who took up smoking before the age of 21. Millions of our citizens, I am sure, will look back with regret about why they have not taken the decision not just to stop but to never have started a habit that kills up to two thirds of its users. It is the largest cause of preventable illness and premature death. My smoking habit took many, many attempts to crack. I often wonder whether, if vaping had been freely available back then as it is today, it would have made the process of quitting easier. Smoking damages the heart and the lungs and is the key cause of many cancers. It has been linked to diabetes and dementia as well as stillbirths and miscarriages, and it damages teeth and gums. Quite simply, there are no good uses for tobacco. No one can argue against the significant harms caused by smoking. During the recent debate in Westminster, it was noted that smoking costs the average smoker £2,500 a year, which is money that those people could spend on other goods and services. The Health Committee has had a number of presentations, all supporting moves to address smoking and vaping in the young, and has had written representation from Diabetes UK, Asthma + Lung UK, the British Medical Association (BMA) and Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, which kindly provided briefing materials. The Youth Assembly broadly welcomed the Bill and was supportive of attempts to create a smoke-free generation. The Committee did not, however, hear from the smoking or vaping industry, other than series of emails from Japan Tobacco International (JTI) warning that, under the UK's withdrawal agreement from the EU, the Bill may not apply here. We need to know whether the Bill can apply in the Province. We need to know whether all four corners of the UK will have a generational smoking ban. We encourage the Minister to detail his discussions in that regard and seek out a definitive response. I can only surmise that the outworkings of the Bill, if enacted, will see the closure of a raft of vape shops on our high streets. I will, however, say that vapes being used by adult smokers to try to quit smoking is no bad thing. We would not want the offer of legal vapes to be lost, therefore pushing the smoker who is trying to quit back to the dreaded fag. The unintended consequences of the Bill concern me a little. What are the views of shopkeepers and their thoughts on the Bill, especially about trying, in the future, to say to a grown adult, for example, in their thirties or forties, that they need to produce identification and telling them that they are too young to purchase tobacco? What will be the implications for shopkeepers when violence against businesses is at an all-time high? Vapes are disgracefully marketed in such a way that they are appealing to young people, with brightly coloured packaging, branded with cartoon characters and flavours that make them as appealing as sweets. All evidence points to the increase in children, in primary and secondary school, using vapes, with further emerging evidence that their usage is affecting children's ability to learn. Nicotine dependence can cause problems with attention and mood, and also sleep issues. There are simply no benefits for non-smokers who vape. Illegal vape products have been found to contain lead and nickel within the soldering of the pipe, pushing those substances into the lungs of young people. We must always remember that the demand for tobacco products is fuelled by addiction. When you reduce the availability of these products, you reduce potential addiction and demand.

Sensible, evidence-based and well-thought-out moves to address the outworkings of smoking, including the cost to our hospitals — over £200 million per year — and the deaths of 2,000 of our people each year, are to be welcomed. That has been borne out in the UK-wide consultation, in which 79% of respondents were in favour. Yes, my party welcomes sensible approaches that aim to stop addiction before it starts, especially in young people. Legislating to prevent dangers to our young people is no bad thing. Yes, we need to educate and raise awareness among children and adults, and not just on tobacco; we could start into the dangers of alcohol and unhealthy food. That will be for another day. New Zealand brought forward a similar Bill under a previous Prime Minister, but that has been reversed under the new Government, who have opted to up awareness and offer practical tools to help people stop smoking. Some might say that we should follow that course. However, New Zealand's Minister of Health has cited that its smoking rates are around half of those of the UK and that it is already well on the way to achieving its smoke-free goals with less than 5% of its population being daily smokers. Many will also say that the big tobacco industry influenced the decision to go into reverse gear. Either way, we cannot allow that to happen. While the Bill may have unintended consequences, saving tens of thousands of lives, deterring any young person from taking up the habit, as I did, and reducing tobacco-related cancers and heart disease, while shifting healthcare from sickness to prevention, are the reasons that my party will support the LCM and its broad principle.

946 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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