The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is carrying out a public consultation regarding The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) and The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 (SPoT).
While the UK’s tobacco control legislation is already among the most comprehensive in the world and smoking rates are at their lowest ever on record, a consultation has been launched to further improve public health as despite this positive news, smoking still remains one of the biggest causes of death and disability across the UK.
A range of legislation has been introduced to improve public health, discourage young people from taking up smoking or vaping, encourage smokers to quit, and to protect others from the harmful effects of second hand cigarette smoke.
Some of the most obvious examples of this have been:
A curb on advertising
Establishing smoke-free places
Introducing prominent graphic health warnings
A ban on proxy purchasing of cigarettes and e-cigarettes
A ban on smoking in cars with children
Introducing of standardised packaging
The consultation provides an opportunity to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the current legislation and is hoped a wide range of industries, charities, academic researchers and members of the public will respond to the twenty questions that make up the consultation.
ADACT’s Chief Regulatory Officer, Damien Bové, said “The consultation comes at an important time and has increased importance as a result of Brexit. With Great Britain no longer having to comply with the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) there is an opportunity to consider the regulatory changes that help people quit smoking and address harmful affects of tobacco use.”
ADACT will be feeding into the consultation process as part of our membership of the UKVIA.
Following the consultation, a report will be published that will:
Set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory provision made by these regulations
Assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved
Assess whether those objectives remain appropriate
If those objectives remain appropriate, assess the extent to which they could be achieved in another way which involves less onerous regulatory provision
If you wish to take part in the consultation, please visit https://consultations.dhsc.gov.uk/5f995b83e81a4b6faf515c1f and follow the instructions before the 20 May 2021 deadline.
To book a meeting to discuss how the consultation could affect you, please call ADACT on +44(0)1302 986 088 or email [email protected].
