Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I see three issues that have come under consideration in this debate. I would not want to protract it greatly, but one has not been addressed. The argument of the noble Lord, Lord Walton, on the harm that can be caused by tobacco commends itself to most people in this House, whatever view they take about this amendment. Therefore, like a lot of others, I favour restricting the sale of tobacco as extensively as possible—that is a personal view. However, as to the proposed exception, which has been supported by the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, and the noble Earl, Lord Howe, which might be made because of a technology which has been found to make it more possible to restrict the sale of tobacco to young people, it appears to me that there is some unnecessary impracticality in that. No doubt it is technically possible, and they have explained how, but the problem appears to be that it requires the full co-operation of the vendor to be effective, and it is highly probable that the vendor will make his or her own assessment of whether the sale is likely to be uncovered. That raises a policing point. The elaboration of the enforcement of that law and the unnecessary creation of a new offence would also weigh against our rejecting the McCartney amendments. My third point is that it is not for this House, although we can observe and comment on the procedures of another place, to act as a policeman. For that constitutional reason, we should be silent on this point.