Member

My second point is that the policy is unnecessary, as smoking rates are declining anyway. According to the ONS, smoking rates among all adults aged 18 and over across the UK have declined from 20% in 2011 to 10% in 2024. In 2019, the then Prime Minister, my noble friend Lady May of Maidenhead, announced the Government’s intention to reach smoke-free—which equates to 5% or less of the adult population—by 2030. Less than five years later, adult smoking rates had declined by a further 4%. Therefore, based on this progress, adult smoking rates will hit the smoke-free target by 2030, or very closely thereafter. This begs the further question: what is the rationale to break from a policy approach that is clearly working to one that is untried and untested and which will have significant unfavourable consequences?