Wes Streeting: Labour would look at banning smoking and the sale of cigarettes

A Labour Government would look into banning the sale of cigarettes over time, shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said.

The party would consult on a number of ways to tackle smoking in the UK, including outlawing the sale of cigarettes altogether, he told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

“We’re going to consult on a whole package of measures to tackle smoking in this country,” he said.

“The government is not on course to meet its 2030 target [to reduce average adult smoking prevalence in England to five per cent] and one of the things that was recommended to the Government in one of their own reviews was phasing out the sale of cigarettes altogether over time.

“We will be consulting on that and a whole range of other measures.”

Pressed on whether it is a possibility that Labour Government would outlaw the sale, buying and smoking of cigarettes eventually, Mr Streeting said: “The New Zealand government are doing it, we want to see how that works.

“I’m genuinely curious, if we want to get the NHS back on track, we also need to focus on public health and I am curious to know where the voters are on this, to where the country is and what appetite exists for change.

“We are going to have to think radically.”

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In December, New Zealand introduced world-first legislation to outlaw smoking for future generations.

The law means that anyone born after 2008 will never be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products. It will mean the number of people able to buy tobacco will shrink ever year.

The ban is accompanied by number of other measures to make smoking less affordable and accessible, such as dramatically reducing the legal amount of nicotine in tobacco products and limiting the number of retailers able to sell cigarettes. Only specialty tobacco stores will be able to sell them, rather than corner shops and supermarkets.

The move has been criticised for failing to restrict vape sales, a burgeoning market among young people, and for limiting personal freedoms. Questions have been raised as to whether other harmful substances, such as alcohol, could be next.

Critics, including the ACT party which holds 10 seats in parliament, have also warned that the policy could fuel a black market in tobacco products and kill off small shops.

“No one wants to see people smoke, but the reality is, some will and Labour’s nanny state prohibition is going to cause problems,” said ACT Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden.

The UK Government is committed to reducing the number of smokers and eventually becoming smoke-free.

In 2019, the Government published a green paper on preventative health where it announced an ambition for England to become ‘smoke-free’ by 2030. This would be achieved when adult smoking prevalence falls to five percent or less.

But a review in February 2022 found that “without further action, England will miss the smokefree 2030 target by at least 7 years, and the poorest areas in society will not meet it until 2044”.

It set out a package of 15 recommendations aimed at supporting the 2030 ambition, which includes four “critical must-dos”: increase investment, raise the age of sale, promote vaping and improve prevention in the NHS.

In 2021, 13.3 per cent of people aged over 18 smoke cigarettes, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was a decrease from 14 per cent in 2020 but still a way off the five per cent target for 2030.