Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I, too, cannot support the amendment. I want to home in on the point which the noble Lord, Lord Walton of Detchant, has just made. By extending brand families, one encourages more people to try each new part of those families. I have hands-on practical experience of that but through launching a product which is good for you as opposed to one that kills. When I was head of the Milk Marketing Board for England and Wales we decided to launch semi-skimmed milk. We launched semi-skimmed, skimmed and homogenised milks; I think about eight to 10 different types were launched. They gave consumer choice. Not one of them encouraged children to try something on which they could get hooked, and thereby create a health hazard for them for the rest of their lives. Let us not forget that 65 per cent of adults who smoke started smoking when they were children. It is children who are enticed into these CTN shops, as they are called—confectioners, tobacconists and newsagents. There are sweets there; they are just on the corner; they are a nice place for kids to meet friends after school. The children see these cigarettes and are tempted. We all know what it is like to be tempted. I cannot even go into a cake shop because I know exactly what will happen. The reality is that these children think it is smart. The reason I do not go into a cake shop is because I do not think it is smart to eat too many cakes. Children are subjected to peer pressure. They think it is clever to go behind what we used to call the bike shed. They are impressionable. It is not the Marlboro Man any longer; it is something about being with their group and daring one another. Which one of us has not been subjected to, "Come on, don’t be so lily-livered, don’t be so stupid. Try it"? They try it. Perhaps they do not like the first few cigarettes, but then they get hooked. We all know that most adults do not want to smoke, but they are addicted. If you hook them at the age of 12, 13, 14, or 15, my goodness, you have got them pretty well hooked for life. What damage are we doing to the health of the nation? The amendment is just a mid-way stop between the Government’s position and a free-for-all. I actually support the Government in this. I am sorry to say this, as I have the highest respect for him, but I think the noble Lord, Lord Borrie, is wrong.