HEXHAM'S MP voted in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free Britain.

MPs in Parliament voted in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at its Second Reading by 383 votes to 67 on Tuesday evening (April 17).

The Bill seeks to impose restrictions on advertising the sale of vapes to children. 

If the legislation passes all of its parliamentary stages, it will be illegal for anyone aged 15 or younger this year to ever be sold tobacco products. 

Provisions in the Bill are also targeted at clamping down on appealing branding of vaping products to children after it was found that one in five children have used a vape. Powers will be introduced to restrict flavours, point-of-sale displays in retail outlets, and vape packaging. 

Retailers caught selling nicotine products illegally will face on-the-spot £100 fixed penalty notices. 

Smoking causes approximately 80,000 deaths every year, as well as one in four cancer deaths, including 70 per cent of lung cancer cases. 

Smoking-related problems lead to 75,000 GP appointments monthly, costing the economy and wider society £17 billion annually. 

Hexham MP Guy Opperman supported the Bill. He said: "I was proud to support this legislation. It is specifically designed to protect future generations from an incredibly addictive drug which we know prematurely kills over 100,000 people a year in this country.

"This landmark Bill will ease the burden smoking places on our NHS and free up much-needed GP appointments. When the Bill comes into law, future generations will be able to enjoy a much healthier and wealthier society. 

"I was also pleased to see provisions in the Bill targeted at vapes, which are too easily accessible for children. I regularly attend litter pics in Tynedale and I am always shocked by the number of disposable vapes blighting our green spaces. Tough action to crack down on underage sales is needed, and this is exactly what the Bill will do."

Mr Opperman has been helping local litter picker Jane Hodson-Hamilton, the Wildlife and Clean Green Lead for the Northumberland Campaign to Protect Rural England group. 

Jane Hodson-Hamilton welcomed the Bill's progress. She said: "I am concerned by the large and increasing number of discarded vapes I am picking up on a regular basis. I am also acutely aware of the damage which disposable vapes do to our environment and our wildlife. 

"I welcome any measures which would help to reduce the number of vapes which find their way into our countryside. I hope the speedy introduction of this legislation heralds a ban for all disposable vapes in the near future."