New Clause 2 - Age of sale
Health Bill
10:00 am
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley East and Mexborough, Labour)
On the very point that the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire raised, I phoned Mr. Siggs the other day to give him a progress report, and he said, “I do not mind you using me as the butt of your jokes, Jeff”, but I digress.
I have pressed the matter since day one because I believe that raising the age is a public health issue as well as a matter of effective enforcement. I think of cigarettes as an age-restricted product available for over-the-counter sales, just like the dangerous knives and air guns that we considered under the Violent Crime Reduction Bill. I have the support of the Trading Standards Institute. The hon. Member for Northavon mentioned driving at 17 and working at 16. Those are not age-restricted sales products, but we should consider tobacco in that category rather than in the wider context of the debate about 16 to 18-year-olds.
There is a lesson to be learned from our debate on the new clause. I have been vociferous about the issue since the White Paper was published. I read it and, as an ordinary Member, put a question to the Minister suggesting that we put the matter out to public consultation, because it is a public health issue. I was slapped down by the civil servants, who said that it was nothing to do with such things, there was no proof and they were not prepared to take the matter forward. The lesson to be learned is that Members of this House, whatever their political persuasion, can sometimes enhance the public consultation process. I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will take that message back to the Secretary of State. Civil servants are not always right and hon. Members can add to the debate.
I totally agree with the point that the measure has been successful in Guernsey but only as part of a wider group of measures. That is why I am going to support the proposal to put the matter out to public consultation. It is important that we do not just implement the measure without introducing a raft of others to complement it. Having said that, I shall not press my new clause to the vote.