Chris Whitty urges MPs to ignore lobbying and pass smoking ban bill

Chris Whitty has said lobbying by big tobacco “needs to be addressed head on”, as email evidence emerged of campaigning tactics being used to put pressure on MPs to sink Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban bill.

His intervention came after the Guardian disclosed that the tobacco industry was lobbying MPs to oppose the legislation and instead seeking support for raising the smoking age from 18 to 21 in an attempt to avoid an outright ban on buying cigarettes for the next generation.

Writing in the Guardian, Whitty said the tobacco industry was the “one gainer from the death and disease induced by their products”, adding: “Their talking points, usually introduced by paid lobbyists, need to be addressed head on.

One amendment being pushed for would introduce licensing for shops selling vapes, a measure that anti-smoking campaigners say is designed to slow down the passage of legislation by burdening it with add-ons.

The Labour MP Alex Cunningham, who received an email telling him constituents in Stockton North wanted him to back a vaping retail licence, said the tactic was typical of big tobacco.

However, Peter Kellner, a former president of YouGov and now a trustee of Ash, criticised what he said was the use of “loaded” polling questions to generate responses that would support the tobacco lobby’s campaign.