Saudi, British FMs discuss regional developments in phone call    Saudi Arabia unveils new skill-based system for expatriate work permits Classification for existing workers began on June 18 while July 1 set for newcomers    New Saudi embassy building inaugurated in Moscow    Nearly 17 million foreign pilgrims perform Umrah in 2024, up 101% from 2022 Makkah ranks 5th globally in number of international visitors    Saudi Arabia reaffirms dedication to achieving equitable and sustainable digital development    Over 80,000 commercial registrations issued in 2Q 2025, bringing total to 1.7 million    Elon Musk announces launch of new political party amid fallout with Trump    UK Foreign Secretary makes historic visit to Syria    Khamenei makes first public appearance since Iran–Israel war    Desperate search continues as Texas flood kills 51, including 15 children 27 girls from summer camp still missing    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Level Up Docuseries launches June 6 on Prime Video    OPEC+ further accelerates oil output hike by 548,000 bpd in August    Saudi Arabia tops global ICT Development Index for 2025    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UK MPs to vote on smoking ban for those born after 2009
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 16 - 04 - 2024

Plans to stop young people born since 2009 ever smoking are being debated and will be voted on later.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's bill aims to create the UK's first smoke-free generation in a major public health intervention.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would ensure anyone turning 15 from this year would be banned from buying cigarettes, and also aims to make vapes less appealing to children.
A number of Tory MPs have told the BBC they won't back the bill.
The BBC understands that Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch is considering voting against the plans.
Conservative MPs will get a free vote on it so they won't be ordered to vote with the government, but the bill is likely to pass as it has Labour support.
The bill would make the sale of tobacco products, rather than the act of smoking, illegal.
Tobacco use is the UK's single biggest preventable cause of death, killing two-thirds of long-term users and causing 80,000 deaths every year.
On top of that, a patient is admitted to hospital with a smoking-related condition, such as heart disease, strokes and lung cancer, almost every minute in England.
Supporting the ban, England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said once people become addicted to smoking "their choice is taken away".
"If you are in favor of choice you should be against something that takes away people's choice.
"When I was a junior doctor doing surgery, I remember the tragedy of seeing people, whose legs had had to be cut off because of the smoking that had damaged their arteries, outside the hospital weeping as they lit up because they were trapped by addiction — that is not choice."
Tory MP Sir Simon Clarke, who served in Liz Truss and Boris Johnson's Cabinets, said he did not support the move.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today program it was far better to focus on education and the tax system to deter young people from smoking, rather than enforcing an outright ban.
"[An outright ban] risks making smoking cooler, it certainly risks creating a black market, and it also risks creating an unmanageable problem for the authorities," he said.
Under the plans, trading standards officers would get new powers to issue on-the-spot £100 fines to shops selling tobacco or vapes to children, with all the money raised going towards further enforcement.
There would also be new restrictions on flavors, packaging and the sale of vapes to make them less appealing to children.
Figures show that one in five children has tried vaping despite it being illegal for under-18s, while the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years.
The bill is being given its second reading on Tuesday, which is the first opportunity for MPs to debate and vote on the broad issue, before more detailed scrutiny takes place in further stages.
With Labour backing the bill, it's almost certain to become law later this year.
Lib Dem MPs have a free vote on the bill, and speaking to BBC Breakfast, the party leader Sir Ed Davey said: 'I've seen the health impacts of smoking tobacco, there's no good outcome, it's always bad, it's the leading cause of preventable death in our country."
Some Tory MPs object to the plan because they believe it is unworkable, others because they say it's un-Conservative. Some MPs intend to try to amend the legislation further along in the process.
Opponents include former prime ministers Johnson, who has called the plans "barmy", and Truss, who is expected to warn against "banning things" in the Commons debate.
Truss told the BBC's political editor Chris Mason that plans to phase out smoking over time were "unconservative".
She said "we should absolutely protect children from damage and danger while they are developing decision-making capabilities", but added: "We're a free country.
"We shouldn't be telling people not to smoke and I worry about where it will lead."
As this would be a free vote, Tory MPs voting against the bill or abstaining would not be considered as rebelling.
But it would still be embarrassing —and potentially problematic — for Sunak if a sizable chunk of his party chose not to back his policy.
The proposed legislation will grant Scotland the appropriate powers needed to enact the bill, but the Scottish Parliament will then need to give its consent via a vote in Holyrood at a later date.
Scotland's Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said the Scottish government wanted to create a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034.
Luke Tryl, director of research organization More in Common UK, told the Today program there was widespread public support for the bill, particularly among 2019 Conservative voters.
"People like the government taking tough measures, particularly on public health and things that affect children and young people," he said.
Health organizations and charities have lined up to urge MPs to support the bill, including Dr. Charmaine Griffiths, British Heart Foundation chief executive, who said the law would be a "game-changer".
She added: "Decisive action is needed to end this ongoing public health tragedy — we urge every MP to vote for this landmark legislation." — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.