13 October 2009
Lots of constituents have been in touch to let me know that they support the government’s Health Bill – and in particular the tobacco control measures it will introduce. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the UK and it is important that steps are taken to protect children and young people from the harm caused by smoking.
Over the last year I have signed various parliamentary motions calling for an end to the display of tobacco products at the point of sale and to all sales of tobacco products from vending machines - including Early Day Motion 189 and Early Day Motion 768.
I also recently wrote to the Health Secretary to raise these issues on behalf of my constituents. I have now received a reply from Gillian Merron, the Health Minister responsible for this policy area. You can read a copy of the Minister’s letter online here.
As you will see in the Minister’s letter, the government is committed to taking forward legislation to protect children and young people from smoking – the biggest single cause of preventable deaths and the biggest single cause of health inequalities.
You will also see in the Minister’s letter that the Health Bill was seeking to remove the display of tobacco products at the point of sale and introduce regulations on cigarette vending machines. However, I am sure you will be pleased to know that yesterday the Health Bill received its Third Reading in the House of Commons – and during this debate the government confirmed that the Bill will be amended to include a full ban on tobacco sales from vending machines. This has been welcomed by many health charities - including the British Heart Foundation who published this article welcoming the news.
This is a great step forward and will help prevent the sale of cigarettes to tens of thousands of children in England and Wales. Thousands of people have taken action in support of the campaign for a total ban. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those constituents who took the time to contact me and to add their support to this campaign.
Would you like to keep up to date on what I am doing as your MP – including news about campaigns like the Health Bill and tobacco control measures? You can sign up to receive my monthly e-newsletter online at www.richardburden.com/signup.
