Finally, Theresa May’s cabinet has agreed to meet demands to publish the new Tobacco Control Plan for England. Politicians from all parties and both houses have pressured the Conservative cabinet to act in a bid to reduce incidences of smoking-related diseases. The contents suggest a possible amendment in vaping regulation post-Brexit, probably announcing a return to large atomizers and the scrapping of 10 ml bottles.
The new Tobacco Plan for England substitutes for the old one which was introduced by Cameron David’s alliance. The old one gave Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) limits to atomizers and juice bottle size, restricting nicotine content and placing a heavy hand on advertising.
The new tobacco control plan’s objectives are to:
England is one of the world’s points of focus for better pro-harm reduction ideas including expert knowledge. With the emergence of the report from the Public Health England, and then the Royal College of Physicians paper, our reputation for good thinking has been cemented.
But beyond offering vaping lip service, saving lives in the present and looking to the future has not been the government’s will.
Sometime in February, across-party peer group demanded that the new tobacco control plan be released. Lord Jeremy Hunt of King’s Health was convinced that May hesitated publishing because of major deductions in the public health grant to the local authorities.
There’s no information as to the funding of any future plans and whether Lord Hunt has knowledge of where May has hidden her “money tree”, but there’s a clear statement with an objective of changing things on the back of the referendum.
The government gives a clear indication on page 27 of the referendum, that after we leave the European Union, there’ll be a revisit on legislation and its application to vaping: “On 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom had a vote leave the European Union. Until exit negotiations have been finalized, the United Kingdom will remain a full member of the European Union and all the obligations and rights of European Union membership still stand.”
“During this period, the government will keep negotiating, implementing, and applying European Union legislation. Tobacco control measures in future will have to represent the new environment where tobacco control will now be delivered.”
“The government will keep on embracing developments which have the potentials of reducing the harm caused by the use of tobacco, and also review if the current regulatory framework is balanced, and whether there’s more, we can do to help smokers quit tobacco smoking. We remain dedicated to a robust and comprehensive tobacco control methodology that protects England population.”