The Tobacco Control Research Group has conducted the first study examining consultation and evidence submissions on the 2023/4 UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill (“the Bill”) from the tobacco and nicotine industries. In November 2024, the Bill was reintroduced by the Labour government and the new Bill is currently in the House of Commons.

The Bill presents a threat to tobacco and nicotine industries earnings and profits. A key part of the Bill is the proposal for a Generational Sales Ban. This would prohibit the sale of any tobacco products to anyone born after 31 December 2008. If this policy is implemented, the UK would become the first country in the world where the legal age to buy tobacco products would increase each year. The Bill would also tighten the regulation of nicotine products, if passed.

In recent years, transnational tobacco companies, which also sell e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products, claim that they have transformed into responsible public health actors. This research paper is one of the first to examine Big Tobacco’s response to new tobacco control legislation in this era of transformation.

The researchers, led by Dr. Britta Matthes, analysed 43 documents submitted by the tobacco and nicotine industries and linked organisations in response to UK government consultations and evidence requests.

Dr. Allen Gallagher, one of the paper's co-authors, emphasises the importance of this research:

Research shows that tobacco kills one person in the UK every five minutes. If the tobacco industry was truly transformed, it would not be arguing against regulations that are designed to save the lives of the country’s estimated 6 million adult smokers.

Well-known industry tactics for responding to the threat of regulation were identified in the responses. These include framing the tobacco and nicotine industries as ‘good’ and framing others including policymakers and the public health community as ‘bad’.

Another tactic in use was framing problems such as smoking and youth use of nicotine products as individual lifestyle choices rather than corporate responsibilities. There was a suggestion that youth use of e-cigarettes was exaggerated and could be due to individual ‘bad circumstances’ or ‘emotional turbulence’.

Submissions also repeated familiar tobacco industry claims that product regulation would lead to an increased black market and sales of illicit products. However, research from the Tobacco Control Research Group has actually shown that the tobacco industry itself has engaged in smuggling its own products.

There were also arguments that the Generational Sales Ban would lead to increased violence against retailers and that restrictions on nicotine products would lead to an uptake in tobacco use. Submissions also alleged that the regulation would violate personal rights and remove freedoms, claims which have repeatedly been called into question.

Lead author Dr. Britta Matthes notes:

We hope this work is valuable for policymakers and advocates in other countries which may be seeking to pursue their own generational sales ban or to reduce the appeal and availability of nicotine products. It could help them recognise and pre-empt the arguments used by the tobacco industry and its allies to oppose such regulations.

This research underlines that, despite claims of transformation, Big Tobacco still opposes legislation which seeks to protect public health for current and future generations.