Member

I turn to my noble friend Lady Northover’s amendment on communications strategy. One of the ways in which the Government need to invest is in an effective communications strategy. Over the years, tobacco manufacturers have spent millions on advertising their products—much of it misleading, such as the earlier claims on the so-called health benefits of filters; although that has stopped now, some people still believe it. So it is time to turn the tables and invest in making people aware of the dangers, for both health and personal wealth, of smoking. For young people, perhaps the most effective communication will be if some celebrities and influencers whom they admire and with whom they identify could be persuaded to make it uncool to smoke; that is what I would like to see contained in a communications strategy.