The Health Secretary is expected to U-turn on government plans to tackle smoking in the UK, according to latest reports.
Insiders say that the Thérèse Coffey will walk away from an earlier government promise of a tobacco control plan.
The government first announced its plan to make make Britain ‘smoke-free’ by 2030 in 2019. This would mean reducing the amount of adults who smoke to just 5%.
Coffey has a history of voting against measures to restrict smoking since she was first elected as an MP in 2010. This includes the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces and also the ban on smoking in cars with children.
Prime Minister Liz Truss is also a tobacco control sceptic who, like Coffey, has voted against measures in the past
Preventable disease
Data shows that around 400 people are being diagnosed with preventable cancer every day in the UK.
And around 40% of cancer cases in 2019-20 – equal to 155,000 – could have been avoided through a number of lifestyle changes.
These include:
- Eating healthy
- Being active
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Avoiding alcohol and cigarettes
- Eating no more than three portions of red meat a week.
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Sugar tax U-turn
This is not the first report that ministers will abandon policy promises. In September, reports suggested that Liz Truss plans to scrap the sugar tax in a controversial move that sparked outrage from health experts.
Also know as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, it was implemented in 2018 to tackle childhood obesity.
In August, Truss also said she would put a stop to upcoming restrictions on multi-buy deals on food and drink high in fat, salt, or sugar. She added that the government will not impose any new taxes on unhealthy food.
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