Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed on Sky News that all disposable vapes will be banned from 1st June 2025. Thank Sunak for that idea…
Nandy said that the ban was being pursued to prevent the take-up of vaping in children. It’s already illegal for kids to buy vapes, the same goes for cigarettes…
She then went on about how they weren’t “pleasant“:
“Single use vapes in particular are causing a lot of problems for the environment. You know I walk through my local park and the council is very good job of dealing with it but you see them discarded all over the place and, um, it’s not pleasant at all for people to have to deal with. So for those reasons we’ve taken the decision to ban single use vapes from next year.”
Guido didn’t realise pleasantness was the metric by which the government decides if something should be outlawed or not. Even the British public isn’t behind Starmer on some of his extreme nannying policies…
Our nanny state has been doing everything in its power to crack down on all things potentially harmful, even if enjoyable, to save Britons from themselves. The Tories kicked it off with the generational smoking ban, then moved on to banning disposable vapes, and Labour has gone further with reports of banning smoking outdoors and in pub gardens. Now it looks like nicotine pouches could be next…
Guido hears whispers that ministers are in talks with the Department of Health and Social Care to ban nicotine pouches like the brands Nordic Spirit and Zyn. These products not only help smokers wean off cigarettes and vapes but also represent an industry estimated to be worth around $268.4 million in the UK. Guido contacted the DHSC for a comment, to which a spokesman said:
“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be the biggest public health intervention in a generation, improving healthy life expectancy and reducing the number of lives lost to the biggest killers. Alongside introducing a progressive smoking ban to ensure the next generation can never legally be sold tobacco, the Bill will also stop vapes and other consumer nicotine products, including pouches, from being deliberately branded and advertised to appeal to children. Together these measures will help stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.”
A non-denial…
Nanny-state Labour can’t seem get enough of cracking down on the joys of life, all in the name of knowing what’s best for us. Reports now say Starmer is thinking of closing pubs early in order to avoid “harmful drinking”. Though in reality it will just cause harm to the hospitality sector, with pubs inevitably forced to shut up shop completely…
While the Department for Health says “This is categorically untrue,” Andrew Gwynne, the public health minister, said the Government was considering “tightening up the hours of operation” of bars and pubs. It’s just another U-turn from Labour. Before the election, they promised to do everything they could to “support pubs”. In their manifesto, they even rolled out a flashy “five-point plan” to stop closures and encourage pub ownership. Starmer himself was dropping hints about an alcohol duty freeze all in the aim of helping out the local boozers. Though with these new restrictions on the table, any chance of that support seems to have gone flat. A reminder of what our Chancellor Reeves once said (this June):
“Brits love our locals. Let’s back our landlords to keep our pubs going. We want to save the British pub because I know what an important institution they are in so many communities.”
This latest move will leave a bitter taste in Brits’ mouths…
Politicians seem to be losing track of what they have already banned. On page 41 of the Tory manifesto it says:
“We will bring forward our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill in our first King’s Speech. We will continue to tackle childhood and adult obesity and will legislate to restrict the advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar. We will gather new evidence on the impact of ultraprocessed food to support people to make healthier choices.”
Apart from tucking away Sunak’s “landmark” smoke ban legislation in the middle of the health and social care section and giving it a 15-word sentence, the Tories appear to be promising to ban already-banned products here. The Health and Care Act 2022 has already legislated that:
“On-demand programme services must not, between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm, include advertisements for an identifiable less healthy food or drink product… a person must not pay for advertisements for an identifiable less healthy food or drink product to be placed on the internet.”
There is, of course, no evidence to suggest that “junk food” advertisement bans work – not that that will stop both parties aggressively out-nannying each other. The government failed to clarify how this will all work via regulation and it looks like Labour is being left to sort it out themselves. No doubt they will go a deal further…
In the left’s latest move to suck the joy out of living, Labour-run Sheffield council has voted to ban all supposedly “harmful” adverts in the area. Taking on board the woke Adfreecities’ advice, it looks like this council is just the first to succeed in nullifying our streets. Unsurprisingly, sinful companies relating to junk food, vaping and gambling are amongst those targeted…
This time though, the local nanny-state has gone further. The council is banning any advert that links to climate change. That includes airlines, airports, and anything not “green”. Even ads for hybrid cars and baby formula aren’t allowed to be seen..
“Local taxpayers expect councillors to be delivering services, not wasting time on this pointless nannying nonsense“.
Despite recognising that this will hit advertising revenue by 20-30% (up to £84,000 a year), the council still feels they’re fighting the good fight to “raise awareness“. Not like there are more important issues councils should be focussing on. Yet another Labour council wasting taxpayers’ time and money…
Guido’s view on Rishi’s various smoking bans has been clear. Prohibition generally doesn’t work in practice…
Now, on top of his New Zealand-style smoking ban and crack down on vapes marketing and flavours, Rishi will be announcing further bans today: disposable vapes. In order to “protect children’s health“, our teetotal Prime Minister has decided that banning all disposable vapes, for adults as well, is a good legacy to leave behind. Another victory for the nanny-state…
Though the bans are likely to go through, friends of the free-market are not happy; we know how the free-market wonks felt about the ban when the plans started to gather steam. Disposable vapes are an inexpensive way for adult smokers to wean off cigarettes, as the Institute of Economic Affairs noted, the ban is a “pro-smoking policy“. According to WeVapeUK director Mark Oates, “This will lead 600,000 premature deaths due to the increase in smoking rates.” Noxious…
As well as restricting freedom, the bans are likely to to hit hard taxpayers’ wallet too, with the smoking ban alone expected to cost the government £9 billion a year. Those on the right of the party have also blasted the bans, with Liz Truss saying: “While the state has a duty to protect children from harm, in a free society, adults must be able to make their own choices about their own lives“. What have they been smoking…
