Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the opinions of e-cigarette users and people who use other reduced risk products are represented at the WHO conference on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in November 2016.

Nicola Blackwood

The Government has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to inform its negotiating position with other Parties attending the Conference of the Parties for the Framework on Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), including users of e-cigarette and other novel products. The Government recognises that e-cigarettes can help some smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. However, they are not risk free and it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. This is a position firmly grounded on the evidence base.

The United Kingdom is a world leader in tobacco control and as such has already implemented the majority of the FCTC’s provisions and taken further action in line with its non-binding guidelines, for example introducing Standardised Packaging. There are few further guidelines being developed by the FCTC and the focus of the Convention is now on full and comprehensive implementation by all 180 Parties. We therefore do not expect the outcomes of the forthcoming Conference of the Parties to significantly alter our tobacco strategy, but will continue to offer our support and experience to help other countries fully implement the provisions of the Treaty, especially low and middle income countries.