Yes, this legislative proposal would ban the sale of all tobacco products including snuff to anyone born in 2009 or thereafter for health reasons. The paper is full of well-worn statistics regarding the dangers of smoking cigarettes but not an iota of information regarding the ‘danger’ of taking snuff. By lumping all tobacco products together it appears that the proposal is less about cessation of smoking than cessation of any form of nicotine addiction whether or not it is injurious to health. Yet the premises for the conclusion are all based on health and mortality statistics alone and not on nicotine addiction. It commits the fallacy of referencing the whole (tobacco) by an enumeration of a part (cigarettes).
Doubtless if this proposal comes up for legislation there will be the usual story of the farmer and his ear and charred aloe stems but any hard evidence that snuff takers have higher mortality rates, take more time off work due to snuff related diseases or are more of a burden on the NHS than the saintly nicotine-free paradigms of virtue like Rishi Sunak won’t be forthcoming. Still, that lack of evidence wouldn’t count for much amongst the dim-wits who sit in Parliament any more than the fallacy of pars pro toto.
(Hush now - keep this to yourselves but for anyone born on or after 2009 I’d be happy to supply you with unlimited snuff, cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco and cigarette papers at black market prices. Just drop me a private message and I’ll be happy to negotiate.)
Regarding buying for others, the point is there will come a point where there will be nothing to buy, as only a small section of the population will be able to purchase and so companies will not make enough sales to stay in business and so will go out of business.
I can’t find precise figures offhand but it is estimated that smoking cost the NHS in England £2.6 billion per year and over £1.19 billion to local authorities from smoking-related social care needs. £500 million is the cost in Scotland, £302 million in Wales and £164 million in N. Ireland – a total of around £4.774 billion. Add on another £500 million for smoking-related social care needs outside England and smoking costs around £5.27 billion in medical care.
£10 billion - £5.27 billion = £4.73 billion lost to the treasury as a very rough and ready estimate. How is that shortfall to be made up?
In addition: if an estimated 80,000 lives are saved per annum then that means greater longevity and a higher cost in state pensions already at £112.5 billion in 2022/23 not to mention the fact that older people, especially the 70-74 group, are more of a costly burden on health services.
However, my biggest criticism is a simple one: Everyone has to die at some time whether of smoking related diseases or not and terminal diseases all require medical care that costs money. It catches up with everyone in time whether smokers or not so the health and cost benefits of not smoking are only delayed. That obvious fact of life and death seems lost on the authors of this ill-considered paper.
Yeah I wonder how they even get these figures and your last point is correct. And let’s say the figures are true, that is likely from smoking, not snuffing or snusing. Wish they’d stop lumping those two with smoking and regular “dipping” like American dipping tobacco where you spit. Not the pasteurized Swedish snus.
I looked into this a bit more, Graeme.
In the UK dementia and Alzheimer’s disease was the leading cause of death for all persons and for females in 2022. According to the NHS the total cost of this condition in the UK is already £26.3 billion - a far greater cost to services than smoking related diseases and there is no revenue generated. Yet despite the dementia cost to services expected to triple by 2040 this tobacco proposal fondly imagines that if the UK becomes a nicotine-free society then everyone will live happily ever after, which is true of all Fairy Stories including this one.
BTW – I was trying to find your report, published, I believe in Tobacco some twenty years ago, on how you exchanged your Georgian silver snuffbox for a snuff bullet for a week. Is it still available anywhere?
New Zealand has scrapped its controversial move to prohibit the sale of tobacco to anyone born on/after 2009. This was the same model the UK adopted for legislation. The reasons why NZ scrapped the scheme (which may be found on the internet) are also applicable to the UK and, at the very least, must give the government pause for thought.
That’s great news, hopefully other Commonwealth states follow suit and drop their ridiculous laws. Most importantly England…since they are the country with the majority of the remaining snuff makers/brands.
making it an offence to sell tobacco products to those born on or after 1 January 2009, thereby phasing out the sale of tobacco products, while not stopping anyone who currently legally smokes from being able to do so. This will mean anyone who turns 15 or younger in 2024 will never legally be sold tobacco products
amending existing legislation to make it an offence for anyone over 18 to purchase tobacco products on behalf of those born on or after 1 January 2009 (proxy purchasing)
supporting the enforcement of the new measures by requiring retailers to update the current age of sale notices (or warning statements) to read: ‘It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009’
Reduce the appeal and availability of vaping products by:
providing powers for ministers to regulate:
the flavours and contents of vaping products
the packaging and product presentation of vaping products
point of sale displays of vaping products
making it an offence to sell non-nicotine vaping products to someone who is under 18 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland already has this in place
introducing a ban on the free distribution of vaping products to under 18s in England and Wales, and provide Northern Ireland with a power to also introduce a ban. Scotland already has these powers
providing ministers with powers to extend the measures outlined above for vaping products to other nicotine products such as nicotine pouches
