Rishi Sunak’s public health plan to ban future generations from buying cigarettes is due to be introduced in parliament this week, with officials bracing for a backlash from Tory rebels.
The policy has considerable support among Conservative voters, but the scale of the expected uprising by the Liberal Conservative Party, which includes Liz Truss, is not yet clear.
But those involved in lobbying to reject the bill say between 80 and 100 MPs are dissatisfied with the policy, which is likely to emerge as one of Sunak’s few legacy policies. They claim that the scenario is that they will depend on the Labor Party.
Conservative MPs who were planning to oppose the bill told the Guardian the scale of their opposition would depend on the content of the bill and how it was amended. The first reading, scheduled to take place in the House of Commons on Wednesday, is typically a formality and takes place without debate, but it may provide some clues about the scale of the unhappiness among Conservatives.
The plans, first reported by the Guardian, will raise the smoking age by one place, so anyone born after January 1, 2009 – currently under the age of 14 – will be legally banned in the UK for the rest of their lives. You won’t be able to buy cigarettes. annually, subject to approval by members of Congress.
Since Mr Sunak announced the policy at last year’s Conservative Party annual general meeting, New Zealand’s Conservative government has announced it is reversing its own smoke-free policy, which was the prime minister’s blueprint.
John Hayes, a former minister and an influential backer on the Conservative right, questioned on Monday whether the bill was ultimately viable, saying that while 28-year-olds would be deemed able to buy cigarettes, He criticized the scenario in which a 27-year-old could buy cigarettes. do not have.
He told the Guardian: I think any law should be made on the basis of whether it can be implemented and whether it will be implemented. I don’t think this is realistically possible. ”
But Mr Sunak is likely to be helped by MPs who have changed their mind about health interventions.
Alan Cairns, a Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Wales, said he had opposed such a ban in the past, believing that “markets” would ultimately lead to better outcomes, but that public health Many others discussed this as well, adding that they had recovered from their perspective.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of the centrist One Nation Conservative Party on Monday night, Frick Drummond, Member of Parliament for Meon Valley, Hampshire, said: I’m all for banning smoking because treating smokers is a huge and costly public health challenge, as well as a human tragedy because of premature deaths.
“Many conservatives, who are usually instinctively reluctant to such interventions and don’t like to ban things, also agree with me, because smoking and second-hand smoke are very dangerous. .”
She believed there was broad support for the ban among many Conservative MPs, reflecting the mood of public opinion.
“Fortunately, lighting has little appeal to the public these days and I believe there is widespread support for a ban. “I imagine it will be reflected in the interim,” she added.
a investigation A survey carried out last month by public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that 71% of adults supported the goal of making Britain a smoking-free country, while 12% opposed it. found.
