Health Bill [HL]

It is my pleasure to move the amendment on behalf of the noble Baroness, Lady O’Cathain, who unfortunately cannot be here today as she has another parliamentary engagement in Paris. This is a key amendment, which I hope will find favour from all sides. It would create a licensing system for the sale of tobacco, so that it is only sold by those with a valid licence. As a harmful product, tobacco is age restricted. However, although it kills many more people than alcohol or fireworks, you do not need a licence to sell it. Young smokers are sold cigarettes by both legitimate and illicit suppliers. One in five so-called test purchases by those under 18 from legitimate retailers results in a sale. It is likely that the success rate in buying from illicit providers is even higher. The Bill introduces much needed additional restrictions on the marketing of tobacco products. Creating a licensing system that is clear and transparent will help to restrict the availability of tobacco to young people, both through retailers and the smuggled market. Licensing of the sale of tobacco would be a positive move for all retailers selling legitimately to adults. It will result in greater revenue for legitimate retailers as illegal traders are forced out of the market. New regulations are coming into force that will mean heavier penalties, including a ban on sales of tobacco for persistent offenders. However, as a lethal and addictive product, there is a need for coherent, systematic regulation. Is there therefore a case for a tobacco licensing scheme? The Bill introduces additional restrictions on tobacco marketing. If it and the amendments are successful, new offences will be created, including displaying tobacco products at the point of sale, selling tobacco products in vending machines and adults purchasing cigarettes on behalf of children. In addition, there are existing requirements not to sell tobacco products to people aged under 18, not to display tobacco advertising larger than one side of A5 and to display signs warning that tobacco products may be sold only to those over the age of 18. Last year, new penalties were introduced for the repeated sale of tobacco products to minors, which now results in the suspension of a retailer’s right to sell tobacco products. This amendment will improve compliance by providing retailers and enforcement officers with a single framework that sets out and regulates the responsibilities of a retailer when selling this highly dangerous and addictive product. So far, the effort to restrict the sale of tobacco products to young people has focused on legitimate tobacco retailers, but we know that vending machines and retailers are important sources of cigarettes for young people, as are illicit outlets ranging from sellers of smuggled tobacco to adults who believe it is acceptable to provide cigarettes to children. This amendment gives powers to create an offence of selling tobacco without a licence. It would apply to all those who sell tobacco to young people. The measure is extremely popular with the general public. According to a YouGov survey conducted last year, 87 per cent of adults support requiring businesses to have a valid licence to sell tobacco, which can be removed if they are caught selling to underage smokers. A strong licensing system will support trading standards officers in implementing tobacco sale laws and enable them to support retailers to understand their role in preventing sales to underage children and enforcing the law where retailers continue to fail to comply. Licensing will help tackle smuggling. Retailers say that one of the biggest challenges they face is competition from illicit sources of tobacco. Smuggled tobacco currently makes up a significant proportion of the market share—13 per cent of cigarettes and over 50 per cent of hand-roll tobacco. This amendment will allow trading standards officers to prosecute illegal sellers of tobacco for selling without a licence and so improve local enforcement. This is a measure that protects responsible retailers at the expense of those who are breaking the law. The system will be straightforward and transparent. Retailers who comply with the law will not be further inconvenienced and the measure will minimise the illegal competition from retailers selling to underage children and those selling illicit tobacco. A commitment to review the system of licensing for tobacco should be part of any comprehensive strategy being developed. The availability of tobacco to children from shops represents a significant problem and clamping down on it is key to achieving a reduction in the number of young people smoking and, in the long term, in overall prevalence.