Member

In our view this Bill, as currently drafted, fails to make the distinction in respect to handmade cigars, pipe tobacco and snuff. Those three products pose no evident risk to youth take-up. According to a UK Government survey from 2012, which is the last time data on cigar usage was collected, 90% of cigar smokers were aged 25 or older and 78% were over the age of 35. The Government thereafter ceased collecting data on cigar smoking because its prevalence had become so marginal within the overall smoking population. According to Eurobarometer data from 2024, this demographic pattern has remained consistent, with 85% of cigar smokers falling withing the 35 to 74 age group.