Wisbech vape shop owner cautious over calls to revive anti-smoking law
The new Labour Government is being urged to bring back the plans
A vape shop owner in Wisbech is telling us the new Labour Government must be cautious if they go ahead with proposed anti-smoking laws.
More than one thousand people across the health sector want Sir Keir Starmer to include the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in Labour's legislative programme in the King's Speech next week.
The Bill - designed to ban young people from taking up smoking - was announced by Rishi Sunak but shelved when he called the General Election in May.
Vaping used as 'political football'
Anthony Elpert runs Ecigzoo and has been vaping since 2009.
"What we'd like to see is before any further regulation gets placed on vapes, for the Government to stop and check the effects the ban and the tax will have on the market before they implement anything else," he said.
"For too long, the previous Government used vaping, the country's number one tool to help people stop smoking, as a political football; it's time for the new government to get it back to the evidence."
Widespread calls to revive anti-smoking laws
More than 1,000 experts across the health sector have urged the Government to include the law "front and centre" when it announces its legislative programme in the King's Speech.
Former prime minister Mr Sunak announced plans to crack down on smoking through his flagship Tobacco and Vapes Bill last year.
The Bill - dubbed the "greatest piece of public health legislation in a generation" - had earned wide cross-party support and was progressing through Parliament when the General Election was called.
The law would have made it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009, as well as cracking down on youth vaping with stricter regulations on flavours and packaging.
"Labour cannot achieve its manifesto commitment to halve differences in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions unless it prioritises ending smoking," according to a letter written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
The letter, whose signatories include experts from leading health and care charities including Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Cancer Research UK and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), said that the Bill "would have passed by summer recess if the election had not been called".
"The devil's in the detail"
In March, former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced plans for a tax on the liquid used in vapes to make the habit unaffordable for children.
While new figures from Cancer Research UK show shows smoking has driven a 17% rise in cancer cases since 2003 in the UK.
It comes as MPs who won their seats at the General Election are sworn in today.
"Smoking has long been recognised as one of the biggest causes of death and ill health, so it's always good to get that message across; whether a ban will work, that will have to be seen," Anthony added.
"The vaping industry isn't against regulation and we don't want to block the Bill going through Parliament, however, with any new laws or regulations, the devil's in the detail."