Don't start smoking or vaping plea - Euan Stainbank MP

This Monday, I turned 25. I took the time to reflect on my birthday, especially as half of it was spent travelling. I found myself reflecting on the daftest thing I’ve ever done – pick up a cigarette nine years ago at an empty.

While mistakes can often teach us lessons, the choice to have that first puff of a cigarette or vape often isn’t a real choice for long. Nicotine is powerfully addictive. Since the age of sale changed from 16 to 18 in 2007, smoking prevalence in Scotland has fallen from 28 per cent in 2003 to 15 per cent in 2022. A positive trend, but not enough – rates of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer linked to smoking are still too high.

Tobacco kills half of long-term users. The solution isn’t shame or exclusion. For current smokers, it is support to quit. For non-smokers, it is prevention. That’s what the Government means by a ‘Smokefree Generation’.

This January, I served on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill Committee. This bill sends a clear message to the tobacco industry – hey will never be able to hook the next generation as they have before. No one born on or after January 1, 2009 will ever be able to buy cigarettes, cigars, or rolling tobacco legally.

I’ve made my views clear in committee and Parliament: we must be careful with our messaging on vapes. For adult smokers, experts – from Chief Medical Officers to Trading Standards – agree that vaping is a harm reduction tool. But for young people and non-smokers, the message must be that vaping is still harmful. We don’t yet know the medium or long-term health effects and vapes should only be used as a quitting aid for smokers.

This bill introduces restrictions on how vapes are displayed, banning products that, through their colour, packaging, and placement, attract children and young people. We must strike a balance—ensuring vapes remain accessible to those quitting smoking while preventing new users from picking them up.

I will continue raising concerns about illicit tobacco and vaping, ensuring this bill doesn’t simply fuel a black market of unregulated cigarettes and disposable vapes (which are to be banned under separate legislation). I welcome the extra resources for licensing authorities and Trading Standards. If you know of any shop selling illicit products, report it to Police Scotland and Falkirk Council Trading Standards. There is no place in our community for those who peddle harmful, addictive products to our bairns.

I was proud to help progress this legislation, voting and contributing towards a balanced, evidence-led policy that will ensure that the next generation won’t make the same daft choice I did at 16.