Caroline Johnson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for that. I am grateful that he is looking for a new home for the regulation that more accurately reflects what is being done.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a good point. I am sure he would agree that, essentially, there is no point in naming a responsible person for the company if that responsible person is not sufficiently able to pull the levers of power within the company if they find that something is not up to scratch. We need someone who is not in fear of being sacked if he or she raises concerns—somebody who is at a high level within the company.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Mr Dowd. Did you say 50 or 15? The reason I ask is that about 50 clauses remain to be discussed and about three days are still allocated to that purpose.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I welcome the steps that the Minister is taking on social media platforms to discourage young people from vaping; that is a very welcome intervention. Given that he has appeared in LADbible articles, I am curious to know whether he will appear in the TikTok videos. I do not have a TikTok account, but it might almost be worth joining to watch them—I think that would be great. How does clause 94 relate to the advertising clauses, which we have not discussed yet but will discuss later? Presumably, if an influencer is receiving revenue, they are effectively advertising a product.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a very good speech. Does he agree that the Minister will have a huge challenge in working out which flavours to choose, if he is going to choose from some? Perhaps he is deciding whether he has banana or cherry, but if we do not know whether the banana flavour or the cherry flavour is the least harmful to the individual, which do we know to recommend to the smoker who is trying to quit?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Let us look back to the issues of the Elfbar items that had, as I understand it, a higher number of milligrams per millilitre—certainly a higher nicotine content—than they were supposed to. If there is no penalty other than being removed from the register until the information is updated, could not someone less reputable say, “Well, I’ll put on what I want to put on; if I get caught, I will at that point say what is really in it and go straight back on the market”? Is a period of not being able to sell the product envisaged? Is a stiff fine envisaged? What is the penalty envisaged or will the register simply have to be updated?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 93 is somewhat interestingly titled, but what does it do? Subsection (1) allows the Secretary of State to create regulations that concern “the nature and amount of the substances that may be released into the body of a person” using the following: tobacco products, tobacco related devices, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products. Subsection (2) states that the regulations may impose “prohibitions, requirements or limitations” on the “production, importation or supply” of these products in “the course of business.” Subsection (3) clarifies that the regulations may specify how “the nature and amount of substances or emissions released by a product are to be determined” potentially by an authorised person designated by the Secretary of State. Again, the Minister may have comments on how the Secretary of State would choose such an individual. Subsection (4) specifies that that these regulations will also be “subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.” This means there will be a vote in Parliament. In relation to this, section 13 of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 currently sets a maximum permitted emission level for cigarettes that are produced by the manufacturer for export in the UK. Section 36 of that regulation sets out product requirements for e-cigarettes and refill containers, including current maximum nicotine quantities. Paragraph 1403 of the impact assessment produced by the Government in relation to the Bill states, “Currently, to supply certain tobacco, herbal, and nicotine vape products on the…market you must first notify your product. Producers must provide data such as the name and contact details of the person who manufactures the product, a list of all ingredients contained in the product, emissions resulting from its use, as well as toxicological data and a declaration that the producer bears full responsibility for the quality and safety of the product when supplied.” In the UK, the EU tobacco products directive and the UK’s nicotine inhalation system regulations aim to control what substances are present in nicotine products. For example, e-liquids are capped at 20 mg per ml of nicotine strength, and that aims to reduce the addictive potential of vaping products. That said, I am aware of a scandal that broke in 2023 involving the widescale overfilling of vaping products by Elfbar, which required a media investigation to expose. I would be interested to know, first, how the new clause differs from previous legislation in its effect and, secondly, how the Minister intends to enforce it so that misdeeds such as the overfilling of vapes cannot occur again on the scale they have before. There are also questions about the amount of nicotine in things such as nicotine pouches, and there has been the suggestion of limits to those as well. I ask the Minister, when he is thinking about that in relation to regulations under clause 93, to consider that, although a normal cigarette reportedly contains between 8 mg and 20 mg of nicotine, the individual smoking the cigarette absorbs only a fraction of that—around 1 mg to 2 mg per cigarette. The suggestion that pouches contain 20 mg of nicotine would lead one to believe that the level is extremely high and would add to the addiction and the dependency, but the Minister should consider the limits on how much nicotine is in the nicotine pouch or other nicotine products in accordance with that. We would not wish to push an individual away from a product that is harmful and addictive on to another product that is possibly harmful and more addictive. I would also be interested to know how, if at all, the Government intend to exercise the powers in clause 93. There are several additives that could be reduced or removed from tobacco products with significant benefit to the smoker. I will give just two examples of chemicals that could be limited under the clause. Ammonia compounds, such as ammonium hydroxide, are used to enhance nicotine delivery to the smoker. Ammonia increases the pH of the smoke, making nicotine more readily absorbed by the lungs. This enhances the addictive properties of cigarettes by increasing the hit of the nicotine. Ammonia and its compounds are toxic, and exposure can cause respiratory problems, as well as irritation to the eyes throat. The use of ammonia compounds also contributes to the overall toxicity of the smoke, as ammonia can form nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. Reducing or removing the ammonia compounds would not only mitigate these risks, but reduce the addictive potential of cigarettes by reducing the introduction of nicotine without changing their basic function. Butane is the second substance I want to talk about. Some Members may recall it as a lighter fluid, but it is sometimes used as a chemical accelerant to aid the burn rate of tobacco. Butane helps to maintain an even burn rate throughout the cigarette, ensuring it does not go out prematurely—potentially risky. Butane is toxic, causing particular damage to the lungs and to the nervous system when inhaled. The removal of butane or its replacement with less harmful alternatives would likely not change the cigarette’s function significantly; the burn rate can still be controlled, but the risk of exposure to toxic gases will be reduced. I urge the Minister, as we look to create a smoke-free generation, not to forget those individuals in society who are already addicted to this dreadful habit, and to do what he can to ameliorate the risks to them, either by reducing the harm of the cigarette itself or by encouraging people to quit the habit. The other question I have for the Minister with regard to clause 93 is: what are the penalties? If someone breaks the rules, if a business is found to be breaching the regulations for how much nicotine is allowed in a product or the concentration, or for how big the tank is or what the components are, what will be the penalties? Companies, largely, will be incurring the penalties, as we have talked about before. The deterrent may need to be quite a large fine in order to make a breach not worth their while.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I would rather the Minister said that it was a flavour I have commonly referred to than a favourite flavour, because I honestly cannot tell him what a unicorn’s milk tastes like.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am suggesting that there is a difference between regulating a product as a medicine, which requires stringent steps, and a statement of what the product does, the effect it is going to have on the body, the claims made about it, and why it is safe, or safer than having the problem that it is treating. Some drugs make people quite unwell but people are willing to trade off being unwell for being cured. For example, cancer drugs make people very poorly at times, but it is considered better to have chemotherapy than cancer, because cancer leads to fatality. That process lets a consumer know that the product has been robustly tested and that the quality is there. On an ongoing basis, someone is checking that the paracetamol bought from a supermarket contains the ingredients that it says it contains on the packet. This notification process does not do that. It says to a company, “Come along and tell us what’s in it. We’ll believe you. Thank you very much. We’re not going to check and we’ll hope it’s all right.” That is a weak process. It is not surprising that there is a weaker process for a consumer product than for a medical product. However, having it also done by the MHRA could lead consumers to believe that the vapes have gone through the first process and not the second process. I think that is misleading—some of the Minister’s hon. Friends are nodding vigorously—and was something brought up by the MHRA itself in response to, I think, my question. The MHRA answered that this could mislead consumers to think that it is medical regulation of vapes when it is not. There is only a point in having a register if it will be used to achieve something. Having a list of stuff does not make a great deal of difference if no one is going to check that the list is accurate, and I cannot see that there is any great step to say that the list is accurate. What comes with a register is important, as well as the register itself. The rationale, as I understand it, of the register is to support the compliant market by having products registered and shown to be meeting the regulations. Again, I understand that this registers that a company has said that it complies with the regulations but I cannot see where the provisions say that there is anyone checking. That may be something that the Minister will add, maybe in relation to later clauses. The aim of the register is to help to ensure legitimate products are available for sale, and to let retailers know what they are. When a retailer—a chap running a corner shop—wants to buy some of these products to sell, and he has a licence, and he has checked people’s ages under the provisions of the earlier clauses, and he wants to sell the product, he wants reassurance that the product is genuine and not illicit. Checking this register for that product would be a step that a reasonable retailer can take to check the product is legit, or at least said to be legit. Both industry and enforcement agencies have asked the Government to update the current notification systems. Although that was not part of the consultation process, I understand—and the Minister can perhaps clarify this—that subsequent consultation will be required to better inform the new registration system and its implementation. The Government would like to ensure that non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products being sold in the UK market are subject to the current notification requirements of nicotine vapes. That is in line with the consultation undertaken by the previous Government in 2023, when the majority of responses were in favour of regulating all non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. Again, I ask the Minister to consider whether the MHRA is the best organisation to be providing that service if it is not doing what most of the public may consider it is doing? At the moment, if enforcement agencies find that the product is notified as not being compliant with regulations, they are unable to update the notification accordingly. The new powers will ensure that the register of products can be updated, and therefore that items can be removed if they are not meeting requirements. To ensure that we can effectively monitor the products and support enforcement, it is necessary for the Government to have the power to introduce the registration regime. I am not against the principle of that, but I think it needs to be well thought through. Perhaps it will be when it comes to the regulations in the statutory instrument—when we no doubt meet again. Adding regulations in general is not necessarily a welcome thing, but in that case it may be useful. There will be some costs to industry, due to measures including product registration requirements, particularly on non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products. That may put off producers with lower standards and may improve the general safety standard of the industry, but it is also possible that those with lower standards will not bother, so the Minister needs to explain what the plan is for that—and also the plans for factories. The registration requirements will also mean that consumers can access more information on non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products. I ask the Minister: will consumers have access to the information on what all the ingredients are? Will there be thought given to people with allergies who wish to use those products? There may be a cost to companies that have to request information from their suppliers and gather existing data on non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products. Companies will also have to spend resources on completing the required paperwork. Based on the impact assessment for the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations, I understand that the Government expect those tasks to take between 10 and 15 hours per notification, plus or minus any translations or translation costs that may be required. Given that any companies notifying the UK will be selling or operating in the UK, translation costs should be negligible. Therefore, it will be 10 to 15 hours work, plus currently a small fee of £150 to notify of a nicotine-containing vape product. There is also a fee for tobacco and herbal products set at £200, a fee for any modifications at £100, and a further annual reporting fee of £100. A new fee will be imposed to register products, which will likely be in line with the current fees for tobacco, herbal and nicotine-vape products. Non-nicotine vape products and other nicotine products that were not subject to notification of fees will be charged a fee to register, with the amount to be determined through further consultation. That is another case where essentially what is happening is that the Government are taking a lot of power to do things, but not being terribly explicit about what they intend to do with them. While the Minister said that he is going to go like the clappers, we still have no clear indication of how fast those clappers are clapping away. For potential new information requirements, there may be additional costs with acquiring that information. Some manufacturers may already collect new information, in which case there will be no additional costs other than staff time spent collating and submitting. Those costs may be more burdensome for smaller companies. The changes will be achieved through secondary legislation, which will be subject to consultation to determine what information should be notified, how the registration will operate, the process for any non-publication of notification and the level of fees associated with costs administering the system. The impact assessment says that the Bill will also give the industry enough time for businesses to make any changes before the future regulations come into force. Again, the Government are saying that they are going to give enough time, and they are going to go like the clappers. But how fast are the clappers going and how much time is enough for industry? I still do not think we have any idea. I have a couple of questions. In subsection (3)(a), where the regulations make a provision about who is to keep the register, will the Government clarify what that Government body or third-party private entity will be? Will it be the MHRA, or will it be something else? Subsection (3)(b) gives the Secretary of State power to regulate eligibility for registration. There is room for debate about what constitutes eligibility and whether small businesses or new entrants will face excessive regulatory hurdles. The power may also raise concerns about what happens if a product or business fails to meet the requirements. Will they be shut out of the market? Will they be forced to make changes? How will that work? Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (4) require producers to provide information about potential risks to human health and substances released by products, but the wording is relatively broad and could raise questions about how tobacco and nicotine product manufacturers will assess and report risks. What level of scientific evidence will be required? How will they balance transparency with proprietary information or concerns about trade secrets? What will happen if the product risk assessment is disputed, and how will disputes be resolved? We may have a situation where the vape manufacturer says that their product and the flavourings are safe but the evidence from medical professionals suggests otherwise. Will they provide the information themselves or will they fund other people to do it? Will that be done under a general pool, or will it be specific to that product at that time? How much influence will the industry have over the results? If we ask a specific question, we will get closer to the answer we want. In the case of vaping products specifically, the health risks are not yet fully known. It is fair to say that there is some debate on the matter, even among respected authorities. The American Lung Association claims that vaping is linked to a condition called popcorn lung, and the Harvard Medical School lists popcorn lung under the risks of vaping. However, the NHS and Cancer Research assert that vaping does not cause popcorn lung, so there is a dispute. Clearly, more research is needed, but in the meantime how will the regulations in the clause address an issue like this? Subsection (5) introduces the idea of fees for registration, including provisions that allow the fees collected to reflect the cost of regulation. It raises issues about how the fees may affect small and independent producers in a market that is taxed. Do we have any indication about what the fees may be? Could the cost of registration become prohibitive for small companies and push them out of the market? Will there be mechanisms to ensure that the fees are not too burdensome for newer and small businesses, or is the intention to limit the number of products on the market by making the fees higher so that we get a smaller number of products and are therefore more able to regulate and assess what is in each of them?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  We had a little search at lunch time and found some examples that may contravene the law. Can the Minister advise to where we should refer those for enforcement?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  This may be the first aspect of the Labour manifesto that we can trust, so perhaps there is something to celebrate.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister want to comment on the range of flavours available, and whether he thinks that has any impact?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is probably much younger than me, but does he remember the sweets that were like little cigarettes, from when we were children?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 95 relates to the registration and information requirements of the relevant products. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 require producers to notify the Government when they place or intend to place nicotine-containing vapes in refill containers and tobacco products in the UK market. Regulation 31 deals with refill containers and regulation 22 deals with tobacco products. Producers must make their submissions to DHSC for products to be sold in England, whereas in Scotland, the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for publishing these notifications. Is the MHRA the right organisation for this? We heard in evidence that when some consumers see that a product has been regulated by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, they believe the product to have been medically tested for safety, which is not the case. They are not tested to the same standard as the other products that the MHRA tests, such as medicines to be prescribed by the doctor or chemist. It is misleading; I wonder whether the Minister also thinks it is misleading. In her evidence, Dr Laura Squire said that it concerned her. For Northern Ireland, the EU common entry gate for producers can be used to place products on the Northern Ireland market. The notification does not currently apply to nicotine-containing vapes and refill containers, so this clause is an improvement. Clause 95(1) allows the Secretary of State to make regulations to establish a register for products such as tobacco products, tobacco-related devices, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products. Subsection (2) provides that these regulations “may impose prohibitions or limitations on the supply of an unregistered product in the course of business.” Subsection (3) outlines the matters that the regulations may address, including who will maintain the register, who will be eligible to be registered, and the need for producers to provide information to the registrar. Regulations may also cover the content of the register, the expiry, renewal, cancellation or suspension of a product’s registration, and the publication of the register. Furthermore, the regulations may set fees for registration or continued registration, which could be used to cover the cost of administering the provisions. We heard in evidence that although products are registered, there is no ongoing monitoring of those registered products. We have seen examples where even supermarkets have been selling products that did not meet the requirements of notification. What will the Minister do to ensure that the regulations he produces can be adequately adhered to and enforced? Subsection (4) specifies that regulations made under the clause may require producers to provide various types of information, such as reasons for including ingredients in a product, images of the product or its packaging, information about the risks, details about substances released into the body, information about the producer’s operations, and details about any nominated responsible person. That all sounds sensible, but we are asking the industry to mark its own homework. I wonder if the Minister has any comments on how reliable industry-provided information might be on some of these, particularly in relation to risk, because the history of the industry is not strong in that area. Subsection (5) clarifies that the regulations may allow the retention of payment of register fees into the Consolidated Fund, which we discussed last week. Subsection (6) reiterates that the regulations made under the clause will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, which we have also talked about. What is the rationale for the intervention in this clause? As I understand it, to support a compliant market, it is important that we have products that are registered and can be shown to meet the regulations. This clause will help to ensure that legitimate products are available to sale and will let retailers know what the products are.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important point. She is right: if a smoker is trying to quit cigarettes, why would a device shaped like a highlighter pen be needed or desirable? I can see why that is desirable to children, as I have said, but why would it be desirable to an adult? Perhaps the Minister is choosing, on balance, to protect children from vapes that they may be able to easily conceal from parents, caregivers and teachers. He may have come across industry suggestions that regulating vape appearance would reduce the appeal of vapes to adult smokers, but I am not sure that is true. In fact, even if there is evidence that it is true, I suspect that the majority of adult smokers will be so keen to protect their children from taking up the habit of being addicted to nicotine—that those smokers have fought so hard to quit themselves—that they would be only too happy to have a standard-shaped vape to ensure that children are not brought into nicotine addiction. Subsection (1)(e) allows the shape to be regulated, and paragraphs (d) and (f) allow the size and other features to be regulated. The Government have sought to look at the impact of this policy. The mod or tank devices are often wrapped in more neutral packaging. Vape liquids and disposable vapes are regularly sold and marketed with brightly coloured designs, as we have said. In fact, it is not uncommon to see them displayed as a rainbow. Again, I think that is designed for children. The cartoons and flavours—we will come to flavours later, so I will not talk about them now—increase children’s intention to try different vaping products. In their impact assessment, the previous Government consulted on options that could be implemented using the powers conferred by this clause. Option one was to do nothing. That would have meant that there would continue to be no regulations on the product presentation of nicotine and non-nicotine vapes, which would essentially be a rejection of clause 91. Option two prohibited the use of cartoons, characters, animals, inanimate objects and other child-friendly imagery, including on the vape device, but still allowed colouring and tailored brand designs—35.8% of respondents were in support of that option. Option three prohibited the use of all imagery and colouring on both the vape packaging and the device, still allowing for branding such as logos and names —18.2% of respondents were in support of that option. The previous Government also consulted on the more stringent option four, which prohibited the use of all imagery, colouring and branding for both the vape packaging and the vape device. That option was somewhat equivalent to the standardised packaging rules on tobacco, and 46.1% of respondents were in support of it, showing that the general public, as consulted by the previous Government on the powers in relation to vape appearances, favour the more stringent regulatory option, which would be open to the Minister should clause 91 go through. When I began my campaign to tackle vaping, I found a number of examples of products shaped in bright, child-friendly cases, some even with cartoon characters. We know that product presentation, as in clause 91, must be considered separately from the packaging, as we considered previously in the debate on clause 90, because for many vaping products, the small, smooth, colourful cases the vape is enclosed in is part of the attraction for children and for non-smokers. Paragraph 1101 of the impact assessment states: “According to ONS data on adult vaping prevalence in Great Britain, 31.6% of adults that currently vape are also current smokers, and 18.7% are ex-smokers. The exact impact on the number of smokers not quitting and ex-smokers relapsing as a result of regulating would depend on what vape packaging and product presentation was regulated.” It is clear that the difference will depend on which step someone takes, but it is also clear that option 4, which is a more stringent approach to the regulations on offer in clause 91, would be preferable. Action on Smoking and Health provided some evidence to the Committee on how vapes are branded and promoted in shops. It talked about limiting their display, as was described by my hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire earlier. I now turn to tobacco-related devices, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers, as mentioned in the impact assessment. Although the vaping regulation is much newer than the tobacco regulation, the powers in clause 91 offer the Minister an opportunity to regulate tobacco products, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers further than he has done. Section 94 of the Children and Families Act 2014 already enables the Secretary of State to make regulations on features of tobacco products across the UK. Clause 91 will widen this power so that tobacco-related devices, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers are all within the scope of regulations. On herbal smoking products, cigarette papers and tobacco-related devices, a simple internet search brings up sites, such as Etsy, advertising papers and rolling trays with cartoon characters. One can get a Hello Kitty grinder. In fact, it is not just a picture of Hello Kitty but a picture in which Hello Kitty appears to be vaping. There are rolling trays with pictures of Princess Jasmine, Cinderella and Snow White. Again, those characters are smoking in the picture—I am sure they are not from any Disney production; I certainly do not recognise them from any of the Disney productions I have watched. Apart from copyright issues, such images are a clear ploy to entice younger audiences. One questions the legitimacy of the plastering of those brands on the products. Have they given their permission for these images? I very much doubt Disney has given permission for its cartoon characters, such as the Disney princesses designed for younger children, to be used in pictures of smoking or vaping.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Can I ask a question?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  With respect, it is unwise to give someone the power to do something you do not want them to do.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Further to that point of order, Mr Dowd. Will the Chair clarify how many new clauses there are, and how many of the new clauses have already been debated?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Mr Dowd. To clarify, there are 10 new clauses and we have already debated: new clause 1, when we were debating clause 91 earlier today; new clause 3, which we debated with clause 1; and new clause 10, which we debated with clause 10. That means that the Government have made a decision —I am sure that the Minister will correct me if I am wrong—that they will need to do seven new clauses over a period of three days, and all the remaining 50 clauses this evening. I am not sure that that is a reasonable expectation of civil service and House staff.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The Minister has been clear that he believes he has the power under clause 91 to put the messages on the cigarettes if he chooses to, which is interesting to note. Will he clarify whether that remains the case with information inserts? The clause refers to the appearance of the products, the shape and the messaging. Will it include pack inserts?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  “Like the clappers” sounds quick, but it has not been defined any further than that, which leaves us in the dark. There is also a balance to be struck. On the one hand, manufacturers may need time to adapt, but on the other hand every day that these attractive products are available to children is another day when more children will become addicted to them.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister clarify whether the regulations require someone to print the ingredients in full on the vape packet, on the vape itself, on a website or on all three?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am glad to hear that the Minister wants to use the regulations and strengthen the regulation around vaping—although I appreciate that that is not the view of the entire Committee—but he is talking about 1 January 2027, which is almost two full years away. Does he anticipate that the packaging regulations will come in before or after the legislation on the smoke-free generation?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I guess that some of that will come under the regulations that the Minister would produce under this clause. The products are defined as tobacco products, tobacco-related devices, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products, so I guess anything that falls into those categories would need to be registered. However, as we have seen already, simply registering a product does not necessarily say that it is safe, or even necessarily guarantee that it contains what it says it contains. It is potentially helpful to have the ingredients, to know what people have consumed, but having something registered with the MHRA may suggest to some consumers that there is a safety check that has not been done here.