Yesterday, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was agreed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, completing its parliamentary journey! 
🤝
Next up: Royal Assent ✅

🚨Big news! 🚨

We are delighted that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has cleared Parliament, paving the way for the UK to introduce a smokefree generation and bring an end to tobacco-related harm in the years to come.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has had an unusual journey - a general election was called as it was making its way through Parliament under the Conservative government. 🏛️

Both the Conservative and Labour governments committed to reintroducing the smokefree generation policy if they were elected.📢

As we near royal assent for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we have been reflecting on some key moments in the Bill's journey. 🚭 Look out for our posts this week to see more 👀

The Bill was first announced two and a half years ago in 2023 under the Conservative government. 🏛️

Tobacco, alcohol & unhealthy food are major contributors to poor health 🚬🍺🍕

Our work on cross risk factors with @aha-uk.bsky.social & @oha-updates.bsky.social has been featured as a case study in this toolkit on advocacy from the FILTERED project...
www.smokefreepartnership.eu/our-policy-w...

A new analysis by ASH shared with the BMJ has found wide variation in NHS funding for smoking cessation across England.

Data from ICBs shows stark disparities in spending between different areas, with spending levels often failing to reflect local need.

Read more here: www.bmj.com/content/393/...

You can read more about tobacco industry tactics on @tcrgbath.bsky.social's Tobacco Tactics webpage. 🚭

Tobacco Tactics details key issues in tobacco control and focuses on the global tobacco industry and those connected to or interacting with it.

See the page here: www.tobaccotactics.org

The board of British American Tobacco, one of the most powerful and profitable #TobaccoCompanies in the world, met in London yesterday. They had a lot to say about their business and @tcrgbath.bsky.social & @ashorguk.bsky.social were there to hear it.

British American Tobacco continues to make billions every year, purposefully downplaying the role that cigarettes play in their business model to pretend they want to phase out smoking.

We were there at their AGM to challenge the board.

🚬Is smoking cool again? It's the question that keeps coming up again and again in media articles. More importantly, what can we do about it?

Last year, ASH's Deputy CE @carolinecerny.bsky.social discussed the issue in the BMJ.
www.bmj.com/content/388/...

Killer Tactics 2 Business as usual YouTube video by ASH UK

You can watch the webinar on the Killer Tactics report here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU1l...

These tactics are not always unique to the tobacco industry and can also be seen across the food and alcohol industries too ...🍔🍷🚬

Our Killer Tactics report tells the story of how these industries work to undermine health policies and protect their profits 💰

Read here: ash.org.uk/uploads/Kill...

🚨Another tactic: pushing for weaker alternatives to tobacco control laws

Industry called for an increase in the age of sale of tobacco to 21 instead of the generational smoking ban in the T&V Bill
Yet when an age of sale increase to 21 was proposed in the Netherlands, they lobbied against it 🤔

Illicit tobacco: facts, trends and industry tactics - ASH Illicit/illegal tobacco refers to any tobacco products sold illegally in the UK, including smuggled genuine products, duty-free cigarettes sold on the black market, and counterfeit or fake tobacco. Il...

Read more on this on our illicit tobacco webpage here: ash.org.uk/key-topics/i...

One key tactic of the industry is to exploit concerns about the illicit tobacco trade

They do this by:

📊funding research that inflates the size of the illicit market

🤝presenting themselves as partners in tackling the illicit trade

🚬using this to lobby policymakers to weaken tobacco control laws

Watch Baroness Northover's speech on Article 5.3 from Committee Stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill here:

Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control protects public health policy from tobacco industry influence. 🚭

However, this doesn't stop the industry pushing their arguments to lobby against tobacco control measures - particularly the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

👀 Are you aware of these tobacco industry tactics? 🚬

This week we will unpack some of the arguments from the tobacco industry playbook that attempt to weaken tobacco control measures and protect their profits.💰

Read more here: ash.org.uk/media-centre...

69% of young people who smoke regret starting🚭

The smokefree generation policy will ensure future generations don't have this regret & are free from the harms of tobacco addiction🚬

The Tobacco & Vapes Bill will create a licensing scheme for retailers, to support stronger enforcement of age of sale

Mum and daughter share stories as part of stop smoking campaign The campaign aims to get across the message that every cigarette takes 20 minutes off your life.

You can read more here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

So fantastic to see @cfex.bsky.social's Turn the Corner campaign launch today.🚭

The campaign shares the powerful stories of Wendy & Amy Robinson, mother and daughter, who both quit smoking to improve their health.

👀Look out for the campaign across TV, radio & social media in Yorkshire & the Humber

This isn’t new. For decades, the tobacco industry has used front groups and voluntary schemes to shape the narrative, delay regulation, and shift responsibility away from themselves.

Tobacco industry gave millions to Keep Britain Tidy via middleman Grants arrangement via an intermediary raises concerns that companies are trying to influence the charity’s campaigns with local councils

🚨 A new investigation by The Times has highlighted the reality of tobacco industry tactics & how they channelled £millions to charity Keep Britain Tidy via a middleman.

www.thetimes.com/article/6ae5...

In our new blog, ASH Policy and Public Affairs Manager John Waldron explains why drops in the legal sales of tobacco are not necessarily a sign of increasing illegal sales, and breaks down exactly what the data tells us. 📉🚬

Read here: ash.org.uk/media-centre...

What does the Tobacco and Vapes Bill actually do? - ASH Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is a campaigning public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco.

🚭 The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has almost completed its journey through Parliament and we are so close to the creation of a smokefree generation.

📖 For a reminder of what's in the Bill, read ASH Public Affairs Lead Helen's @helenduffyash.bsky.social blog here.👇

ash.org.uk/media-centre...

A new financial year is a good time to check in on what funding the government has committed to tobacco control. 💰🚭

Thanks to the ASH policy team for this helpful table. 😄

Indoor smokefree legislation led to an additional 300,000 quit attempts in 2007. 🚭

Now, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill presents an opportunity to create similar momentum, and encourage people who currently smoke to join the smokefree generation. 🚬❌

Read more here: ash.org.uk/media-centre...

The Windsor Framework: what does Brexit mean for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in Northern Ireland? - ASH Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is a campaigning public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco.

Read here: ash.org.uk/media-centre...