Latest News
England
We estimate that as many as
23,000 11-15 year old regular smokers get their
cigarettes from vending machines in England and
Wales.*
The vote on the Health
Bill took place on Monday 12 October 2009 affecting
England, Wales and Northern Ireland. And we had some
fantastic news with MPs
supporting our call for a ban on
cigarette vending machines, which meant they went further than
the bill asked them to.
We are delighted with the result
and it gives a massive boost to our campaign. It is
a big victory for all of our campaigners,
and a big thanks goes to everyone that
took action, signed our petition and/or emailed their MP.
Every action really did count!
On 8 March 2010 the regulations required to
implement the ban were passed by both the
House of Lords and House of Commons, and the
ban will come into effect in October 2011.
Wales
After the fantastic result in Westminster we
pushed for Welsh Ministers to commit to a
full ban and for a date to put it into action. The
Health Bill passed at Westminster created powers
for the Welsh Assembly to now ban cigarette vending machines. New
proposals have been announced by the Welsh Assembly banning
tobacco displays, with displays in corner shops being
banned from next year and displays in supermarkets being banned two
years later. The new rules also cover a ban on cigarette vending
machines which is great news for the campaign!
We'll keep you up-to-date with all the latest
developments as and when they happen.
Northern Ireland
We estimate that in 2008,
851 regular smokers accessed cigarettes from
vending machines in Northern Ireland.*
The Northern Ireland Assembly debated its approach to tobacco
control in March and in light of the fantastic result in
Westminster is likely to take a similar approach
to that of the UK Government. The Health Bill passed at
Westminister creates powers for the Northern Ireland
Assembly to now ban cigarette vending machines. Our team in
Northern Ireland will continue to work with MLAs
from across the chamber to encourage them to introduce a
full ban as soon as possible.
Scotland
In Scotland, 13% of 13 year
olds and 10% of 15 year olds who smoke
said they got cigarettes from vending machines.**
BHF Scotland has led the fight
against cigarette vending machines, which resulted in the
Scottish Government publishing its Tobacco Bill including a full
ban on cigarette vending machines. This means that the
Scottish Government is the first in the UK to commit to a
full ban.
The Scottish Parliament passed the Tobacco and
Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill on 27 January 2010,
including a full ban on the sale of cigarettes
from vending machines. In the end, the ban had the full support of
the SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Greens, with only the
Conservatives opposing it. This was a major success for BHF
Scotland, and was the culmination of a year and a half of
lobbying, arguing, persuading and hard work. Well
done to everyone that took part!
*This is a BHF calculation using the latest available data
regarding vending machines from Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use
among Young People in England 2008, and mid-2007 population
estimates by individual year for England and Wales. It assumed that
trends in smoking among young people and children are similar in
England and Wales.
** Scottish School Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey
(SALSUS) - National Report 2008, 23 June 2009
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