Health Bill [Lords]

If the hon. Gentleman had been here throughout the debate he would have heard that answered adequately. I am pleased that the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney), which puts cigarette vending machines out of the reach of our children, has been accepted, and that we can uphold the World Health Organisation framework convention on tobacco control to protect health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. I would have liked to have seen new clause 7 on plain packaging go further—I would have liked the Lib Dems to have put it to the vote—but that is for another day. I would like proxy sales to be banned, too, but I voted against the Tories’ proposal, because what they suggested was not enforceable. However, I would like more action on that. Someone dies prematurely every four minutes from the effects of smoking—15 people an hour, or 75 in the five hours of this debate, which would empty the Public Gallery steadily. This is a valuable step forward, and I congratulate the Government on taking it.