UK: The
Tobacco and Vapes Bill was
approved yesterday (16th April) in the House of Commons (lower parliamentary chamber) on a second reading, with 379 votes in favour and 65 votes against. All present Labour
members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favour, alongside most of the Conservative MPs. A group of more than 50 Conservative MPs led the resistance against the bill, showing the division within the Conservative party over prime minister Rishi Sunak’s policy. Most of the criticism from the opposing group of MPs – which include five ministers and former prime minister Liz Truss – mainly concerns the generational ban on tobacco products that the bill proposes, arguing that the bill goes against Conservative values. The bill’s call for evidence has been
launched, and will now undergo the Public Bill Committee’s scrutiny until 23rd May 2024.