Letters
Open letter to the prime minister/secretary of state for health
New Labour government must reintroduce Tobacco and Vapes Bill in next parliamentary session
BMJ 2024; 386 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q1483 (Published 07 July 2024) Cite this as: BMJ 2024;386:q1483Linked News
Phasing out smoking will help Labour narrow life expectancy gap, say doctors
- Nick Hopkinson, chair and professor1 2,
- Sarah Woolnough, chief executive3,
- Jeanette Dickson, chair of council4,
- Mike Richards, chair5,
- Carol Black, chair6,
- Mark Rowland, chief executive7,
- Linda Bauld, director8
- On behalf of 1409 doctors, academics, nurses, and other health professionals
- 1Action on Smoking and Health, London, UK
- 2National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, Royal Brompton Hospital Campus, London, UK
- 3King’s Fund, London, UK
- 4Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, London, UK
- 5UK National Screening Committee, London, UK
- 6Centre for Ageing Better, London, UK
- 7Mental Health Foundation, London, UK
- 8SPECTRUM Consortium, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- n.hopkinson{at}ic.ac.uk
We urge the Labour government to put reintroduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill1 and publication of its roadmap to a smoke-free Britain2 front and centre when it sets out its priorities for the parliamentary session in the King’s speech.
The last Labour government launched Smoking Kills, the first cross-government tobacco control plan, a year after coming to power in 1997.3 This drove substantial declines in smoking among adults4 and children5 after two decades when little or no …