New think tank report sets out pathway to Smokefree 2030 target

  • Cross-party think tank Demos publishes policy recommendations around e-cigarette regulation to help England get back on track to reach its 2030 smoke free target.

 

  • Proposals, set out in a new white paper, include targeted provision of free vaping starter packs to deprived communities.

 

  • White paper has sought to identify ways of encouraging smokers to switch to e-cigarettes without introducing non-smokers to nicotine.

 

  • Government-commissioned Khan review into tobacco harms predicts that, based on current projections, around 7% of the UK, over 4.8 million people, will still smoke in 2030. The Government’s target is 5%.

 

A new think tank report has set out a pathway for the government to achieve its Smokefree 2030 target of reducing the number of smokers to 5%.

 

The white paper, Smoke without fire: A new vision for vaping policy in the UK, has identified a number of gaps in the current regulatory framework and produced a range of policy proposals to address them. These include:

 

  • Significant expansion in public information campaigns promoting e–cigarettes as less harmful nicotine alternatives; including more investment from the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (OHID). This would take inspiration from the annual Stoptober campaign, which has increased the number of smokers making quit attempts (2.3 million since 2012).

 

 

  • Government to modify Tobacco and Related Products (TRPR) and Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) regulations to allow government-approved messages promoting them as less harmful to be included both online and on inserts in cigarette packets.

 

Alice Dawson, Researcher at Demos and co-author of Smoke without fire: A new vision for vaping policy in the UK, said:

 

“Based on current trajectories we will not make good on the government’s laudable ambition to all but end adult smoking.

 

“There is vast room for improvement in the way we currently regulate the use, promotion and sale of e-cigarette products. We need a full and thorough overhaul of the current framework to ensure gaps are plugged and new, effective regulation is brought in.

 

“Given the risk of introducing young people to nicotine, this is by no means an easy task. However, we believe that by targeted, coordinated action, our proposals can make a real, lasting difference in supporting smokers who are trying to quit.”

 

The report also recognises the potential pitfalls of policies which introduce non-smokers, particularly the young, to nicotine. Despite age restrictions, the latest data shows that 16% of children aged 11 to 17 have tried vaping, an increase from 14% in 2020. This number rises to 29% for 16 to 17 year olds.

 

It therefore proposes the following policies:

 

  • Government to close the loophole that presently allows free e-cigarette samples to be handed out to children and teens.

 

  • Government to make the Challenge 25 policy mandatory for the sale of e-cigarettes in all brick and mortar shops and supermarkets.

 

  • Parliament to strengthen the regulation around “child-friendly” imagery and e-liquid descriptions on e-cigarette packaging.

 

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of illness and premature death in the UK, with an estimated 191,900 deaths attributed to smoking in England from 2017 to 2019. It remains a driving cause behind health inequalities in England, with ONS data suggesting that around one in four people who are unemployed smoked, compared with around one in eight people who are in paid employment.