British Thoracic Society welcomes the proposed legislation set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

The British Thoracic Society welcomes the proposed legislation set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was reintroduced by Parliament this week.  If approved, the Bill will develop legislation to prevent children who are 14 or younger from ever being legally sold tobacco, transforming the health of generations to come. 

BTS also welcomes additional proposals to extend the smoking ban to outdoor spaces such as playgrounds and hospitals and restrictions on areas where people can vape. These measures will help to protect individuals whose vulnerability to the harmful effects may be invisible, for example, people who have a lung condition such as asthma or COPD.

The harms of smoking are well documented, with 64,000 dying in England from smoking-related diseases every year. (1) Smoking also exacerbates health inequalities, with people from disadvantaged backgrounds impacted the most, often through lack of access to tobacco dependency treatment.

Dr Paul Walker, BTS Chair of the Board of Trustees, commented:

“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill presents a huge opportunity to protect the future health of children, tackle the worrying and widespread issue of youth vaping and prevent the devasting impact of smoking-related death on families.  Our members remain committed to reducing the harm caused by tobacco dependence, and we hope that the Bill receives the cross-party support it deserves to bring the proposed measures into law.”

Professor Sanjay Agrawal, Consultant Respiratory Physician and former Chair of the BTS Tobacco Specialist Advisory Group commented:

"Exposure to tobacco smoke can cause or exacerbate lung conditions such as COPD, asthma, and infections, as well as conditions that make breathlessness worse, including cardiovascular disease and many cancers. Prior audits of hospital smoke-free grounds conducted by BTS (2016, 2019 and 2021) demonstrated poor adherence to hospital smoke-free policies. (2)  The measures set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill may go some way towards reducing the health risks to patients, staff and children who use our hospitals.”

BTS will continue to support the provision of tobacco dependence programmes across the four nations and champion the prevention of smoking-related lung disease. (3)

References

1.    Action on Smoking for Health. Health Impact of Smoking of Core20 plus5. 2022. Accessed here. 
2.    BTS National Smoking Cessation Audit Report 2021: Management of Tobacco Dependency in Acute Care Trusts. Accessed here.
3.    Information on BTS’s Quality Improvement for Tobacco Dependency can be found on the BTS website, and further resources are available on the Respiratory Futures website. Accessed here.