Speeches by Al-Hassan.

“Q I thought you said that there are no licensed products on the market? Dr Laura Squire: There are not, which is why that is the way we would prefer to do it. Again, if we licensed these consumer products as a medicine, there are very strict requirements on labelling and on what needs to be given to the patient to expl…”

“Q When we give a new medicine to somebody, we give them advice and explain what it is and what it is safe to do with it. When people get vapes, do they get the right level of information and advice about what that product actually is and about the risks? Dr Laura Squire: They would do if it was a licensed product.”

“Q You have listed a couple of bits, but do you think there are any further measures that would help to limit the appeal of vapes to children and young people? Matthew Shanks: I think the appearance and location of vape shops are important, so there could be better regulation around that. We have talked already about sp…”

“Q The only thing I would say to that is I can go into a small Tesco and it sells different things from the other small Tescos. Inga Becker-Hansen: Precisely. But then it should be up to the business or the retailer to decide that strategy for themselves rather than it being implemented.”

“Q Would you like to explain how it would affect the confidence of the individual going into that shop? Inga Becker-Hansen: If you have certain branches of a certain brand selling alcohol in one shop, and then in another shop, they are selling alcohol and vapes, when you are going to purchase your product, you will thin…”

“Q I can understand how it would increase complexity for a large retail organisation, but I cannot understand how it will individually affect the confidence of an individual consumer who goes into that shop. Inga Becker-Hansen: Okay.”

“Q We talked a little bit about the new licensing scheme’s impact on retailers, and you have talked about a level playing field. You say that large companies should have one licence across multiple branches. How does that balance the risk that these measures will disproportionately impact small and independent retailers…”

“Q Thinking specifically about vapes, do you feel that this Bill goes far enough in providing tougher regulations and more resources for enforcement, while balancing the burden on businesses that probably have not had this level of regulation? Lord Michael Bichard: We think it does. You have to look at the package, beca…”

“Q We have spoken a bit about the gradual change and about that preventing uptake, but how does the gradual change in the age of sale affect the impact on tobacco and vaping behaviour, compared with increasing the age of sale in one go? That is based on comments we have heard about the difficulty in asking people’s ages…”

“Q We have touched on local variations. How do you think local variations should take into account the small variations in health inequalities that exist in different areas? You gave an example of a shop being the only shop in a village, but if that village was also an area of high deprivation, how should that affect th…”

“Q Do you believe the measures in the Bill to prevent vapes appealing to children are likely to work? Alison Challenger: The short answer is yes, I think they do. The need not to have children exposed to the marketing of vapes is very important. At the moment we see that children are exposed to that marketing and are en…”

“Q Is there any research into passive vaping risks to bystanders, who do not have a choice if someone is vaping next to them? Sarah Sleet: As I said earlier, the research evidence around vaping harms is currently very poor. There has not been enough. It takes a long time to build up evidence of things that are generally…”

“Q Do you think the introduction of a generational ban on smoking could cause an increase in the use of other nicotine products, such as vapes or smoke-free tobacco? Hazel Cheeseman: The purpose of the legislation is to reduce smoking. The Department’s projections in the impact assessment clearly show that, even on cons…”

“Q Comparatively, how addictive is nicotine in tobacco and vapes compared with other products? I seem to remember that it is harder to get off nicotine than methadone. Is that true? Professor Sir Gregor Ian Smith: I am not sure we have the data or the evidence to back that up, but I have certainly heard people claim tha…”

“Q Thank you for the evidence submissions so far. In your opinion, will the Bill’s restriction of flavours for vaping products prevent the appeal to children and ex-smokers, if they can no longer access such products? Sir Francis Atherton: The issue of flavours and colours speaks to the issue of marketing towards childr…”

“I declare an interest as a practising pharmacist. [Interruption.]”

“7. What steps he is taking to improve housing for military personnel and their families.”

“May I wish a happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, to Members and to constituents in North Somerset? Morale in our military hit record lows under the last Government, and I am proud that this Government have already delivered the largest pay rise for the forces in more than 20 years. Does the Minister agree that this hous…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member on having the best birthday.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. Over the past two decades I have had the privilege of working in a range of community pharmacies across the south-west and elsewhere. I thank the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) for the best birthday present I could ask for: an opportunity…”