Peer trying to derail UK smoking ban discussed bill with relative at tobacco firm | Tobacco industry

A member of the House of Lords seeking to derail a generational ban on tobacco sales discussed the legislation with a “very senior” family member at British American Tobacco (BAT).

Lord Strathcarron is proposing amendments that would remove the central provision of the tobacco and vaping bill originally proposed by Rishi Sunak’s government.

If the bill is passed in its original form, the UK would become only the second country to implement a so-called intergenerational smoking ban, making it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born after 2008.

Strathcarron’s proposal is to raise the legal purchasing age from 18 to 21.

The change proposed by the peer, who described cigars as “harmless” in a recent speech in the House of Lords, reflects BAT’s lobbying position.

As a result, tobacco products will be able to be legally sold to millions more people in the coming decades.

Tobacco groups have threatened the government with legal action over the proposed generation ban and appealed to right-wing MPs to rally support to water down the proposals.

Guardian in June and ExamWeeks after a leading cigarette company paid him to visit its research facility in Switzerland, his Tory colleague Ed Vaizey, a non-profit newsroom that investigates global health threats, reported that he had proposed delaying the heated tobacco ban, another key proposal in the bill.

Strathcarron’s amendments, tabled on or before May 1, would change the text of the bill to lift the ban on tobacco sales for future generations.

This colleague explained that he had discussed the bill with his father-in-law when asked about his proposals by the Guardian. Exam. He said the relative was a “very senior” person at BAT but declined to name the person.

“We actually debated the tobacco and vaping bill, which market forces felt was unnecessary because it was doing what the bill was intended to do,” Strathcarron said.

He later told the Guardian that it never occurred to him to reveal the connection because the person was “not considered family”.

He questioned whether his discussions constituted lobbying, but acknowledged that his colleagues sometimes relied on lobbyists for help on policy due to a lack of resources.

One of the lobby groups Strathcarron said he was in regular contact with was Action on World Health, co-founded by Nigel Farage and staffed by several nicotine industry consultants.

“Peers do not have any support staff and we have to rely on lobbyists and pressure groups for research and sometimes drafting,” Strathcarron said.

World Health Action said it had not spoken to Strathcarron about the bill and had not received any funding from the vaping or pharmaceutical industries with which it had no affiliations.

A BAT spokesman said the company was “unaware of any relationship between a BAT employee and Lord Strathcarron” and did not respond to a question asking which employee was related to the peer.

“While we support the UK government’s smoking cessation target, we believe a generational smoking ban will increase the illicit market and encourage criminals,” the spokesman said.

The House of Lords code of conduct states that holders of public office “must not act or take decisions for the purpose of obtaining financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends, but must declare and resolve any interests or relationships.”

During the Lords’ debate on the bill, Strathcarron disclosed a separate potential conflict of interest. “My Lords, I declare that I am interested in a minority investor in one of my companies also producing e-cigarettes, but my concerns about this Bill have nothing to do with e-cigarettes, but with its treatment of cigars and pipes and the fact that the generational ban is practically unworkable and therefore unworkable,” he told the chamber.

In the same conversation, Strathcarron described the cigars as “harmless”; This definition contradicted extensive academic research showing that the risk of death from regular cigar smoking may be equal to or greater than that of cigarette smoking.

He told the Guardian that raising the smoking age to 21 was a “more effective” way of getting young people to quit smoking than government plans.

Strathcarron told Exam in an email that he met a tobacco industry representative at the British Grand Prix in July this year after he submitted his amendment.

Action on World Health said it was working “closely” with lobby groups such as the Free Speech League and Big Brother Watch. “They keep me informed about upcoming events, which I often attend,” he said.

A previous investigation by the Guardian revealed World Health Action campaigns against the World Health Organization (WHO) and staffed by former nicotine industry consultants. The group does not disclose its financing sources.

Its co-founder, David Roach, runs a firm that provides secretarial services to the Global New Nicotine Institute, which advocates for nicotine pouches and other products.

According to Action on World Health’s website, its goal is to “reform or replace” the WHO, which it accuses of “interfering with your lives and civil liberties,” including “the food you eat, the alcohol and sodas you drink, the treatments you receive and the smoking cessation products you use.”