Bob Blackman MP Asks PM To Raise Legal Age To Buy Tobacco to 21
In PMQs, MP Bob Blackman calls on Boris Johnson to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products in the UK to 21 & levy £700m on tobacco companies
WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH: In PMQs today, the Conservative MP for Harrow East, Bob Blackman, called on PM Boris Johnson to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products in the UK from 18 to 21.
He also cited the Government’s current target of making the UK “smoke-free” by 2030, stating that “we are going to miss that target”.
He called on the Prime Minister to impose a levy on the profits of big tobacco companies to raise £700m. This would then be put towards smoking cessation services on the basis that “the polluter must pay”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded, saying that an independent review into smoking is currently underway.
Read Blackman’s full speech below.
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MP Bob Blackman:
I strongly support the government’s intention to make England smoke free by 2030.
But on the current trajectory, we’re going to miss that target.
It is vital that we discourage young people from starting to smoke and encourage people who smoke all ready to give up.So does my right honourable friend agree with me that it’s now time to raise the age of legal sales of tobacco products from 18 to 21 and impose a levy on the profits of the big tobacco companies to raise £700m that we can put to smoking cessation services on the basis that “the polluter must pay.”
PM: I thank him very much and he’s absolutely right about smoking, it’s the single biggest cause of preventable death in this country.
As he’ll know, Javed Khan is undertaking an independent review of smoking and I’m sure he’ll want to take my honourable friend’s suggestions into account.
