Feature | Prime Minister Sunak lost the election, will the UK's e-cigarette policy change direction?

Feature | Prime Minister Sunak lost the election, will the UK's e-cigarette policy change direction?

The results of the British general election were announced. The Conservative Party suffered an overwhelming defeat, while Keir Starmer, leader of the British Labour Party, won an overwhelming victory and will become the next prime minister. Will the new government formed by the British Labour Party change the Conservative Party's policy on tobacco? What will be the attitude of Starmer and the Labour Party he leads towards new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes? Will the UK follow Australia's policy on e-cigarettes?

 

On July 5, the results of the British general election were announced. The Conservative Party suffered an overwhelming defeat. The current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted defeat, and Keir Starmer, leader of the British Labour Party, won an overwhelming victory and will become the next prime minister, marking the Labour Party's return to power and ending the Conservative Party's 14-year rule.

 

The latest forecast of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) shows that the Conservative Party will only have 144 members left - the lowest total number of them after the election since the Conservative Party first operated in the 1830s.

Previously, the British government announced a total ban on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes by April 2025, and restricted the flavors of refillable (open) e-cigarettes, while requiring manufacturers to adopt plainer, less visually appealing packaging. The ban received overwhelming support, with nearly 70% of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the public supporting the measure.

 

At the same time, the landmark anti-smoking bill, the Tobacco and Electronic Cigarettes Bill, proposed by Sunak's Conservative government, was previously predicted to be shelved because it was not included in a series of bills passed before the next general election.

 

Now, will the new government formed by the British Labour Party change the Conservative Party's policy on tobacco? What will be the attitude of Starmer and the Labour Party led by him towards new tobacco such as e-cigarettes? Will the UK follow Australia's policy on e-cigarettes?

 

Who is Keir Starmer?

 

Born in 1962, Keir Starmer is the current leader of the British Labour Party. He studied law at the University of Leeds and completed his postgraduate degree at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University. Before entering politics, Starmer had a brilliant legal career. He was a barrister by profession and became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 2002. From 2008 to 2013, he served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Director of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and was known for handling human rights and public interest cases.

 

Starmer was first elected to Parliament in 2015, and then he quickly rose through the ranks within the Labour Party, becoming Shadow Brexit Secretary in 2016, playing an important role in the Labour Party's Brexit strategy, and succeeded Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party in April 2020.

As leader of the Labour Party, Starmer is committed to repositioning the Labour Party to attract a wider range of voters, emphasizing economic stability, health care and social justice.

 

On key policies and positions, after the Labour Party lost the 2019 general election, Starmer led the Labour Party to work to restore its credibility and electability. He advocated responsible fiscal policies to rebuild the economy. Committed to reducing waiting times for the National Health Service (NHS), improving medical services, promoting solutions to inequality and supporting working families.

 

It is worth noting that Starmer is also a vegetarian and believes that "being a vegetarian is better for both yourself and the environment." In today's European and American political arena, politicians with environmentalist tendencies are more attractive to Generation Z. Vegetarianism is considered not only good for the environment, but also has multiple benefits for personal health, which makes politicians who advocate vegetarianism more popular.

"Cultivating the healthiest generation of children"

 

According to the information currently known, the Labour Party will not change the Conservative Party's "political legacy" on tobacco and even e-cigarettes.

 

Before the general election, the Labour Party stated that if the party won the national election on July 4, it would also ban the next generation from legally purchasing cigarettes.

 

Previously, Sunak wanted to introduce the world's strictest anti-smoking rules, banning anyone aged 15 and under from buying cigarettes, but his plan failed to become law before he announced the election, which cast the policy into doubt.

 

Starmer announced the party's policy plan, and the main topics he talked about included achieving political and economic stability and improving health. In the polls before the vote, the Labour Party's support rate was far ahead.

 

The manifesto document clearly stated: "We must take preventive public health measures to tackle the biggest killers and help people live longer and healthier. This starts with smoking."

 

Starmer himself rarely talked about new tobacco issues such as e-cigarettes, but promised in an interview that if he wins the next election, he will help cultivate the healthiest generation of children. He advocates a "nanny state" policy to promote children's health. The Labour Party will ban the use of flavors and colors that children like in e-cigarettes, as well as "launching breakfast clubs in primary schools and banning e-cigarette advertising to children."

 

Labor Party: The e-cigarette industry should "return to its original intention"

 

In addition to Starmer, the Labour Party ministers (ministers) led by him are more concerned about domestic tobacco problems and propose more radical measures.

 

In December 2023, British Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that the Labour Party has considered listing e-cigarettes as prescription drugs to prevent young people from relying on this "entry-level drug". Sterling publicly accused "Big Tobacco" and the e-cigarette industry of "false compassion" in dealing with the problem of children's smoke inhalation.

Sterling revealed in an interview that he is considering implementing the same policy since he approached Australian Health Minister Mark Butler. Sterling said that the Labor Party is considering making e-cigarettes prescription drugs to ensure that only adults who are trying to quit smoking can use e-cigarettes, rather than becoming a "gateway" for children to smoke.

 

During his visit to Australia, he said that the e-cigarette industry should "return to its original intention" and only be a real smoking cessation aid, and only sell it to those who are trying to quit smoking.

 

Australia's policy became relaxed in June this year. After the Australian government reached an agreement with the Green Party, the revised bill was passed by the Senate and will be submitted to the government-controlled House of Representatives for stamping to become law. The bill allows pharmacies to sell e-cigarettes without a prescription, which has aroused strong opposition from many medical associations, who are worried that the move lacks discussion and may have adverse effects on public health. Health Minister Butler believes that this is to balance the access to e-cigarettes and their original use as a treatment tool.

 

If Sterling considers following Australia, then Australia's current policy is obviously of great reference significance to the upcoming Labor government.