UK Parliament / Open data

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Proceeding contribution from Wes Streeting (Labour) in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 26 November 2024. It occurred during Debate on bills on Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

I will just respond to the point made by the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).

There is no liberty in addiction; there is no freedom in addiction. The logical extension of the libertarian argument the hon. Gentleman puts forward would be the end of the ban on indoor smoking. If we should

take a live and let live approach, why not legalise cannabis? Why not legalise cocaine? We prescribe certain harmful substances, and there is, I think, an unanswerable case on tobacco because it is uniquely addictive and uniquely harmful. That is why we will take a tougher approach with this harmful substance than we would with something such as alcohol, or other harms such as gambling.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
757 cc686-7 
Session
2024-25
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Back to top