Member

I know that the Minister and supporters of the Bill like to console themselves that this black market thing is just a tobacco industry talking point, and I know that Action on Smoking and Health claims that the concern about turbocharging the illicit market is just the corporates crying wolf. But as I tried to say in Committee, maybe because of where I live, around there I can see the explosion of shops that sell a few vapes, do a bit of barbering and those sorts of things, but it is not the case that there is not a problem. It is not always to do with official statistics. I think the Government should avoid burying their head in the sand. It would be better to take seriously the need to clamp down on illegitimate activities, precisely in order to safeguard legitimate businesses from unfair competition, but also for the sake of consumers.