QUT Professor Endorses UK’s “Smokefree Generation” Bill
As the United Kingdom Parliament’s House of Lords scrutinizes the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024-25, esteemed legal academic Dr. Matthew Rimmer from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has endorsed the legislation in a new report. He frames the bill as a justified and proportionate measure aimed at creating “smokefree generations” and enhancing fundamental human rights, including the right to life and health.
The bill, which has garnered support from over 1,200 health leaders, proposes a generational ban that would make it illegal for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, to ever be sold tobacco products. It also aims to “stymie the efforts of tobacco interests to create a new generation of nicotine addicts via brightly coloured and flavoured vapes” by introducing stricter controls on vape advertising, promotion, and sales. Professor Rimmer, an expert in intellectual property and innovation law, highlighted that the governments of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have also endorsed the bill, recognizing its potential to address longstanding health inequalities, as smoking-related mortality is often more than double in the most deprived areas.
Professor Rimmer’s report acknowledges the fierce opposition the bill faces from “Big Tobacco,” which he states has engaged in threats of litigation, lobbying, and a “charm offensive” targeting Conservative MPs. He referenced a *Guardian* newspaper investigation into previous smoke-free future attempts, which found that tobacco companies orchestrated submissions to inquiries and funded pressure from right-wing think tanks. However, he argues that the bill is justified under the European Convention on Human Rights, as it enhances human rights rather than diminishing them.
The UK Bill mirrors New Zealand’s pioneering plan for a tobacco endgame, which was unfortunately repealed by the incoming conservative coalition government in that country after what Professor Rimmer describes as “political compromise and interference from the tobacco industry.” He suggests the UK can also draw upon Australia’s successful defense of plain packaging laws in international courts and its recent strengthening of vaping regulations under the Vaping Reforms Amendment Act (2024).
In his report, Professor Rimmer also recommended that the UK Bill be further enhanced with a new, wholesale, price cap-based “polluter pays” levy on tobacco products to address the industry’s environmental harms, such as pollution from discarded cigarette butts and deforestation. The Australian Government is reportedly monitoring the progress of the UK Bill to consider emulating some of its measures, highlighting the international significance of this legislative push.
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