Rishi Sunak has hit back at criticism from his predecessor Liz Truss of a plan to effectively ban youngsters from smoking.
The Prime Minister faces a backlash from the Tory right, led by Ms Truss, over his plans to ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008.
Mr Sunak insisted there was nothing “unconservative” about caring about children’s health.
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He said: “On smoking, there’s been a long tradition in Parliament of these being free votes, which aren’t party political, people will have their own held views on that, that’s the same as it’s been in the past.
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“So I respect that some people will disagree with me on this but… I think this is the right long-term thing for our country. Smoking causes one in four cancer deaths. It’s responsible for a hospital admission every minute.
“And if we don’t do something about it, hundreds of thousands of people will die in the coming years and I think that we do have a chance to do something about it.”
Ms Truss attacked the “profoundly unconservative” policy by claiming Tory governments should be against such “nanny state” policies.
But Health Secretary Victoria Atkins insisted the move would be popular with Tory voters.
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She added that ministers “want to help children avoid the horrendous pull of a nicotine habit, which vapes can very often be the gateway”.
Disposable vapes are set to be banned in Britain at the end of 2024 or the start of 2025.
Pupils told the Prime Minister the problem of vaping was getting worse when he talked to teenagers during a school visit.
One girl at Haughton Academy in Darlington told Mr Sunak: “It’s getting worse.”
She said vapes were being marketed at children, with colourful packaging.
Mr Sunak, who has two daughters, replied: “There’s no reason why kids should be doing it.”
There are also concerns about the environmental impact of vapes as they are almost impossible to recycle and often contribute to litter in green space.
In 2021, only 7.7 per cent of current vapers aged 11 to 17 used disposable vapes, but this increased to 52 per cent in 2022 and 69 per cent in 2023.
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Headteachers and parents have expressed concerns over the rise in youth vaping, with data showing 7.6 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1 per cent in 2020.
Mr Sunak said the rise in vaping among children is worrying, adding: “Children shouldn’t be vaping, we don’t want them to get addicted, we still don’t understand the full long-term health impacts of vaping. So it is right we take strong action to stamp this out.”
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Powers will also be introduced to restrict flavours which are specifically marketed at children and ensure that manufacturers produce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of children’s sight.
New ￡100 fines will also be brought in for shops in England and Wales which sell vapes illegally to children.
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