Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, there is one point that needs to be addressed. A number of noble Lords—among them the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, and the noble Earl, Lord Onslow—have said that if tobacco is so bad, the answer is to ban it. They should know that banning a highly addictive substance has no effect in reducing consumption; in fact, it may even increase it. The use of cannabis or ecstasy is very widespread although both are illegal, and it shows little sign of stopping. It is better to restrict the sale of a product such as tobacco as much as possible and, in addition to the other measures that the Government have passed, to reduce all forms of promotion, as this Bill will do. The product should also be highly regulated and, I suggest, available only through licensed outlets. At the same time, the danger of tobacco—and of cannabis, for that matter—should be widely explained and publicised, and facilities for encouraging people to quit should be made widely available. That, and not banning it, is the way to deal with it.