The United Kingdom Parliament is considering a bill aimed at making smoking obsolete, which has been endorsed in a report by long-time tobacco endgame campaigner, Professor Matthew Rimmer.
- Bill faces pushback from Big Tobacco which helped defeat UK’s previous smoke-free future attempts
- 1,200+ health authorities call for swift passage of bill by House of Lords
- If passed, it would stymie creation of a new nicotine generation via flavoured vapes
Six months after its second reading in the House of Commons, the House of Lords is scrutinising the Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024-25 (UK) in late October 2025, and early November 2025. More than 1,200 health leaders have endorsed a petition, calling for the swift passage of the bill through the House of Lords.
Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law in QUT’s School of Law, Dr Matthew Rimmer (pictured above) said the enhanced Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024-25 (UK) aimed to create smokefree generations, and stymie the efforts of tobacco interests to create a new generation of nicotine addicts via brightly coloured and flavoured vapes.
Professor Rimmer said the UK Bill had been endorsed by governments, MPs and health authorities of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to pave the way for a smoke and nicotine-free UK.
All have noted the huge public health benefits of a nicotine endgame, particularly in the area of addressing longstanding health inequalities, he said.
An MP from Cheshire has stated that tobacco consumption is a primary driver of health inequalities across the country because in the ‘most deprived areas’ the mortality rate ascribed to smoking is more than double that in the least deprived areas.
More information
To read more, visit QUT news.
Professor Matthew Rimmer’s report, The United Kingdom Debate over the Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024-25 (UK), is available on eprints.
