Health Bill

I thank the Secretary of State for her generous comments about my campaigning activities with regard to Government new clause 6. As she knows, I have been pushing the issue ever since the Government launched their White Paper ““Choosing Health””. In fact, I have tabled two early-day motions in the past two parliamentary Sessions, as well as presenting my ten-minute Bill, the Age of Sale of Tobacco Bill, on 18 October last year. I do not want to repeat in detail what I said in Committee, but I am grateful to Ministers for going out to public consultation on the matter over the next few months. I am sure that the public consultation will be very positive. Indeed, the BBC and Sky conducted two polls immediately before Christmas showing support of about 85 or 90 per cent. for raising the age of sale. I have always regarded the measure as common sense. Before 1997, exactly the same proportion of young people smoked in Guernsey as in the UK, but following the implementation of the measure, the rate in Guernsey fell to 50 per cent. of that in the UK. The measure has been adopted in many European countries as well as in Scotland and Ireland. It has the support of the Trading Standards Institute, which is the enforcement agency that carries out age-of-sale test purchases. A resolution on the issue has been passed at the past two Trading Standards Institute annual conferences. The measure will bring the age of sale of tobacco in line with that of alcohol and of dangerous knives and airguns, the age limit for which will be increased to 18 by the Violent Crime Reduction Bill. Most smokers start smoking in their early teenage years—indeed, most of them start before the age of 16. I am sure that raising the age will not stop teenagers, and young teenagers in particular, from trying smoking. We need to think about introducing a more effective education programme in schools, youth clubs and other settings in which young people congregate. As has happened in Guernsey, I am sure that the measure will impact on the number of young people who smoke with the passage of time. I pay tribute to my local newspaper, the South Yorkshire Times, which has produced a petition entitled, ““Petition to raise the minimum age of smoking to 18””. It states:"““The South Yorkshire Times is supporting Mexborough and Barnsley East MP Jeff Ennis in his bid to raise the minimum age of smoking from 16 to 18 with his Age of Sale of Tobacco Bill. Sign below to show your support for this measure to improve the health of our young people.””" As I said in Committee, I want to single out a campaigning journalist with the South Yorkshire Times, Lee Siggs, for his help. The South Yorkshire Times placed the petition in not only all the local newsagents, but the local further education college, Dearne Valley college. The vast majority of signatories to the petition are young people aged 16 to 25 from not only my constituency and places such as Greaseborough and Swinton, which are in the constituency of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey), but Denaby and Conisbrough, which are in the constituency of the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint). I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy) and the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley for the way in which they took the Bill through Committee and improved it. Since I discussed the issue in Committee, I have received a letter from one of the tobacco companies, which are often portrayed in this place as bêtes noires. The letter, which came from Phillip Morris, was very positive. It stated that in that company’s opinion the age of sale is a matter for the Government and that as far as it is concerned smoking is an adult activity that is not for children, which shows that tobacco companies can be responsible. It is therefore appropriate to pay tribute to tobacco companies as well as criticising them. In conclusion, I am glad that the whole House has supported this common-sense measure, and I look forward to the age of sale being raised to 18 and incorporated into the Bill at the end of the public consultation period.