A key milestone passed: The Tobacco and Vapes Bill completes Report Stage and Third Reading Stage in the House of Commons

After hours of debate in the House of Commons yesterday, Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill during its Third Reading.  

This brings us one step closer to preventing people born on or after 1 January 2009 from ever legally being sold tobacco, helping to create the first ever smokefree generation.  

The Bill is comprehensive, and in addition to the landmark age of sale legislation, it includes regulations to reduce the appeal of vapes to young people.  

Why does this Bill matter?  

Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer in the UK.  Although smoking rates have been declining since the 1970s, around 6 million people still smoke in the UK. We know that smoking rates do not fall on their own, and that to achieve a smokefree UK (less than 5% of the population smoking), further government action is critical.  

That’s why at Cancer Research UK, alongside our partners and supporters, we have been campaigning for over a decade to end cancers caused by smoking. As part of this, we want to prevent people from ever starting smoking.  

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill offers a unique opportunity to do just that. If passed and implemented, it would raise the age of sale of tobacco by one year every year, meaning that those aged 16 or younger will never be legally sold tobacco, and may never start smoking.  

How did we get to this point?  

It’s not been a smooth journey to get the Bill to this point.  

A similar Bill had been introduced by Rishi Sunak’s Government and had been making good progress through Parliament. But following the announcement of the general election, the legislation was dropped.  

And since that general election in July, over 40,000 cancer cases have been caused by smoking. Behind the statistics are real people – each one a friend, family member or partner. 

While we were incredibly disappointed that the Bill had been dropped, we didn’t lose sight of our vision to create a smokefree generation. As part of our efforts to keep tobacco on the new Government’s agenda, over 100 of our Campaigns Ambassadors wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, asking him to bring back the Bill.   

We were elated when, in November 2024, a new and improved Bill was introduced by the new Labour Government, and later when, at the Second Reading, the legislation was passed by a majority of 368 MPs.  

Gathering in Westminster, over 75 of our dedicated volunteer Campaigns Ambassadors spoke to MPs about the need to tackle smoking and shared their own reasons for campaigning for a smokefree UK with MPs. 

Next, the Bill went to Committee Stage, where 17 MPs went through the Bill, line-by-line, and proposed and debated amendments. Our Executive Director of policy and information, Dr Ian Walker, gave oral evidence at this point, where he emphasised the potential for this Bill to make the UK a world-leader in tobacco control.