Nadine Dorries: During my first two days as a member of a Standing Committee, I have observed that the Minister seems to be very pragmatic. We find ourselves debating a partial ban and the effect of second-hand smoke. However, most of us would prefer to see either a Bill that introduced a total ban or a Bill that did not ban smoking but left it to self-regulation. The Minister has told us that education and...
Nadine Dorries: Just for clarity, is the Minister saying that a commercial vehicle owned by a business or an organisation, whether or not it passes from employee to employee, would be a smoke-free environment? I am thinking of employees who smoke and drive a lorry, van or other vehicle all day. One person whom I know smokes and drives a lorry all day. Under this provision, he will no longer be allowed to...
Nadine Dorries: ...labour, so it is to address inequalities across the board. My right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North mentioned socio-economic groups, and the disparities they experience: smoking, alcohol and other negative factors that contribute during pregnancy are across the board, and they need to be addressed. That is the reason why the office has been established. The...
Nadine Dorries: Will the Minister clarify where the evidence comes from? She said the evidence came from those who provided information, but can she be more precise about the evidence that residual smoke actually does harm? I am an ex-smoker, and I believe that it is easy rapidly to change the atmosphere in a car, particularly in modern vehicles. It is not just a matter of opening the windows; the...
Nadine Dorries: ...first four weeks of birth; and behavioural problems. Women are tested for the presence of carbon monoxide at the antenatal booking appointment and as appropriate throughout pregnancy to identify smokers, or those exposed to tobacco smoke, and offer them a referral for support from a trained stop smoking advisor. Carbon monoxide testing may also highlight a household problem and the need to...
Nadine Dorries: I could not agree more, but we are doing nobody any favours whatsoever if we do not inform women of the impact of smoking and obesity during pregnancy. Before covid—some time ago—Public Health England had a huge emphasis on the negative effects of smoking during pregnancy, and we think we need to focus once more on the fact that 12.8% of women are smoking at the beginning of pregnancy and...
Nadine Dorries: Thank you, Lady Winterton; I will do that. My next point is about the effects on employees. Certain Members have made me aware that they are working in offices where there is second-hand smoke because of a lack of ventilation. Is the Minister aware of that? One hon. Member complained of having had a sore throat since May. My point is that we can have any level of botched regulation, but there...
Nadine Dorries: ...continuity of carer model of midwifery care to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable mothers and babies; increased personalisation and delivering care closer to home; and initiatives to reduce smoking in pregnancy and increase rates of breastfeeding.
Nadine Dorries: .... It is a private members’ club and will be exempt from the Bill. It serves food, and children are in the club all day Saturday and Sunday, Christmas, holidays and often in the evenings. The smoke in that club is so dense that it stings one’s eyes when one walks in. The children who are in there tend to be from lower socio-economic groups. Their parents have taken them there because...
Nadine Dorries: ...the reasons why some women are more at risk of poorer outcomes than others. We know that there are many health issues that contribute to poorer outcomes in pregnancy, including alcohol, obesity and smoking. The chief medical officer recently published a report that showed that, in some of our seaside towns, 25% of women are smoking at the beginning of pregnancy. I think the figure was that...
Nadine Dorries: ...22.1% of women were obese in early pregnancy. If a woman’s BMI is higher than 25, that is associated with a range of additional risks, which I will not list now, but which include miscarriage. On smoking, some 12.8% of women in the UK were smoking at the start of pregnancy and 10.4% of women were smoking at the time of delivery. With the new emphasis on public health post covid, I...
Nadine Dorries: ...hon. Member for Streatham welcomes the establishment of this new body to tackle the top preventable risk factors for poor health, which include obesity, unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. Equity and equality guidance will also be issued. It is a huge step to look at those lifetime health experiences that contribute to what happens at the point of...
Nadine Dorries: ...would be aware, as would the general public, of the worth of our firefighters. I make that point to begin with because some of the representations I have heard are, “Firefighters are now fitting smoke alarms, talking to children in schools, and not fighting as many fires as they used to.” I want a firefighting force that is ready and able to do a job should it need to be done—should...
Nadine Dorries: ...state-of-the-art hospitals and doctors in our amazing NHS to treat them. We should be placing our focus on preventing obesity, which is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking, and keeping people out of hospital. Of all the nations that fund healthcare, we have one of the highest healthcare budgets in the world. We spend more each year on treating obesity and diabetes...
Nadine Dorries: ...with white women. It also provides evidence of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle before conception and during pregnancy for all women, to reduce the risk of miscarriage. Women who smoke in the first trimester are 1.2 times more likely to have a miscarriage than non-smokers. Women with a low body mass index, under 18.5, are 1.6 times more likely to miscarry and those with a...