Fiona Bruce welcomes Government announcement on Smoking
Fiona Bruce MP has welcomed Government proposals for plain packaging of cigarettes.
Fiona said “This is something I have campaigned on with constituents and cancer at heart charities since becoming an MP. It is a priority to help prevent children from starting to smoke and this will be one way – research shows this could help 4000 children a year from starting to smoke.”
Welcoming the proposals in Parliament Fiona Bruce said “I strongly support the Minister’s statement and proposals. Does she agree that if 4,000 children a year can be discouraged from taking up smoking there will be a double public health win—not only better health outcomes for those 4,000, but the release of funds for the health treatment of others in their generation for illnesses and disease? Those funds would otherwise have to be used, in time, to treat many of those 4,000 for smoking-related diseases.”
In response, Health Minister Jane Ellison said “I thank my hon. Friend for those comments. She is absolutely right to draw the House’s attention to the fact that the extent to which we can bear down on smoking and stop people taking it up the first place has a major impact on the sustainability of our health services and will, as she says, free up more resources to be spent on other things. It is a very important health priority. She is also right to allude to the impact of, for example, 4,000 children not taking up smoking. Even a modest impact on a major killer is really important.”
Fiona Bruce added “In fact, the packaging proposed will be far from plain but will contain unsightly images of smoking related diseases – enough to put anyone off smoking for life.”
