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The next item is an evidence session with the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health and supporting officials on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill supplementary legislative consent memorandum, LCM-S6-51b, which was lodged in the Scottish Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on 27 February 2026.
The legislative consent process set out in chapter 9B of standing orders requires the Scottish Government to notify the Parliament, by means of a legislative consent memorandum, whenever a UK Parliament bill includes provision on devolved matters. Each LCM is referred to a lead committee to scrutinise and report on, before the Parliament decides whether to give its consent to the UK Parliament legislating in the manner proposed.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 5 November 2024. The purpose of the bill is to introduce a series of measures that are described as a
“significant step in creating a smoke-free UK.”
The committee has previously undertaken scrutiny of an LCM and a supplementary LCM related to the bill, and published a concluding report on that scrutiny in May last year.
On 17 February 2026, further amendments to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill were tabled in the UK Parliament that extend to Scotland, triggering the need for an additional supplementary LCM.
LCM‑S6‑51b sets out the Scottish Government’s view that amendments grouped into four categories require the consent of the Scottish Parliament. This is because they relate to a purpose within the Parliament’s legislative competence—namely public health—and because some of the amendments also alter the executive competence of the Scottish ministers. These are: various amendments that relate to filters; an amendment that relates to advertising for public health; amendments that relate to technology in devices; and an amendment that relates to liability for internet service providers.
I welcome to the committee Jenni Minto, the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health; and, from the Scottish Government, Professor Linda Bauld OBE, chief social policy adviser; Fiona Dill, team leader for tobacco and nicotine; and Katherine McGarvey, lawyer.
I invite the minister to make a brief opening statement.
Thank you, convener. Since I provided evidence to the committee on 6 May 2025, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has continued to progress through the UK Parliament. The third reading in the House of Lords took place yesterday.
I am delighted to say that there continues to be cross-party support for the bill and for creating a tobacco-free Scotland for future generations. I am also pleased to let Parliament know that there continues to be productive and constructive engagement across the four nations over the bill’s development.
The amendments that are covered in this supplementary legislative consent memorandum further strengthen the bill and are in line with the tobacco and vaping framework and the population health framework.
Today, we are focused on a second supplementary LCM that was lodged in our Parliament on 27 February. It covers amendments on filters, technology in devices, advertising for public health and liability for internet service providers.
When introduced, the bill did not cover filters. The amendments bring filters into the scope of the bill, ensuring that the legislation is as comprehensive and future proof as possible. The new powers to extend provisions in Scottish legislation to filters rest with the Scottish ministers and will be subject to the affirmative procedure, allowing appropriate scrutiny by the Scottish Parliament.
The powers that are included in the parts of the bill that cover product requirements and advertising rest with UK ministers but will require the consent of the Scottish ministers where regulations contain devolved provision. I want to assure Parliament that any future regulations on filters will be informed by consultation.
Unfortunately, the technology in vaping devices and tobacco-related devices is developing rapidly. There are now vapes that contain games, messaging capabilities or Bluetooth connectivity—features that will undoubtedly appeal to young people. The amendments on technology in devices give powers to the secretary of state to regulate technology in vaping products or tobacco-related devices, such as heated tobacco devices. There will be a requirement for the secretary of state to obtain the consent of the Scottish ministers if any future regulations contain provision that would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
The amendment on advertising for public health provides clarity around the intentions of the bill and will introduce a new defence for advertising offences when a person is acting in accordance with arrangements made by a public authority. That will ensure that public authorities can enter into arrangements with businesses such as pharmacies to show materials that promote vaping or other non-medicinal nicotine products for public health campaigns. However, that does not mean that we are proposing to change our stance on vapes. Vapes are helpful to some people who wish to quit smoking and services should support people who make the choice to use a vape, but they are not without harm and they are not available via stopping smoking services in Scotland.
The intermediary liability for internet service providers amendment will ensure that there are exceptions to offences where a completely passive internet service is being provided. That applies to devolved and reserved offences. The amendment will not change the intended policy but will provide clarity on where the liability rests.
We continue to work across the four nations on the bill and officials have started to consider co-ordinated implementation plans where they are appropriate and right for Scotland. Most of the relevant enabling powers will require consultation before regulations are made. The Scottish Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the content of future regulations to ensure that they meet the needs of Scottish policy.
I finish by thanking the committee for its consideration of the LCM. I recommend that the Scottish Parliament gives its consent to the amended provisions in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
Thank you, minister. We now move to questions from Sandesh Gulhane
I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP.
Vapes are very topical at the moment, given what has happened in Glasgow, and I put on the record my thanks to the firefighters and all the brave crews who risked their lives to keep the fire at bay. The fire started in a vape shop. Eyewitnesses suggest that it might have been caused by electrical overloading, and we certainly know that the fire started there; it was devastating. My question is about the safety of vapes, how flammable the products are—a huge number of batteries were stored in the shop, which possibly caused the popping sound we heard—and how all that might have contributed to such a devastating fire. What is the safety of vapes, and what can the minister do about it?
Your questioning is straying quite far from the limits of the LCM. Is your question in relation to the LCM that the minister is here to speak to?
Yes, I think that it is, because there is a broader question about safety when it comes to vapes and the storage of vapes—how and where they are stored—and whether the Scottish Government is perhaps able to go a little bit further to create the safety and reassurance that we all want on our high streets.
Although I accept that those are important questions, I believe that one of your colleagues will raise them with the relevant minister in a topical question this afternoon. However, the minister who is sitting in front of the committee is here to speak to the LCM, which is quite limited in its scope. I therefore ask the minister to make some brief comments, if she can. If they relate to the LCM, that would be more appropriate.
I was also concerned and saddened having seen the coverage of the fire unfolding on Sunday, the devastation that it has caused to businesses and the disruption that it will cause to those travelling into and around Glasgow city centre. It is essential that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is now able to undertake full investigations with its multi-agency partners to understand the nature of the fire and why it spread as it did. It is inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage, but I want to be clear that we will consider the issues around the fire with an open mind, and, as the convener indicated, a topical question on the matter will be taken in the chamber this afternoon.
Sandesh, do you have any further questions?
Yes I do. Minister, you said that your position has not changed when it comes to vapes due to their use in helping people to quit smoking. Although vapes are a valuable aid in that respect, less than 6 per cent of the population would be affected by the policy on vapes, and that percentage will be even lower for people who are actively trying to quit smoking.
Vaping is on the rise, especially among children. Why has the position not changed, given that vaping affects such a small proportion of the population? Should we consider doing more to prevent vapes from getting into the hands of children and from being so prevalent? As we heard in the previous evidence session, people are simply starting to vape and skipping all the other steps, and are perhaps using vapes as a gateway into other drugs.
Again, minister, please make your comments in relation to the LCM that is in front of us.
As Dr Gulhane has indicated, the Scottish Government’s policy with regard to vapes has not changed. Vapes are one of a range of tools that smokers can choose to help them quit. We are clear that we do not believe that vapes are appropriate for non-smokers. However, the amendment that is in the LCM will ensure that, if the policy changes in the future, we can use the bill as needed to ensure that, if the view from a public health perspective is that vapes are a suitable tool for ceasing smoking, that can occur. Therefore, it is an important amendment.
Okay, thank you.
Good morning. This legislation is about tobacco and vapes. There is a rise in vaping among young people, but there are also issues about snus products being taken. It is not illegal to possess snus in the UK but it is illegal to sell it. Does the bill—
Again, Ms Harper, the minister is here in relation to the LCM. Please keep your questions in relation to the LCM.
My simple question is this: does the LCM not cover snus, and would further legislation be needed to incorporate that?
As you pointed out, those products are not currently captured by regulation on tobacco or vapes in the UK. As such, they are regulated only under general consumer product safety regulations. That means that there are currently no restrictions on the nicotine content. If it is passed, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will introduce a range of restrictions, including on the age of sale, advertising, free distribution and retail register for the products. However, there would clearly be consultation on that.
Thanks.
Given the range of powers that are in the bill and how far it will stray into devolved competence, and given that, so far, nothing has been done to tackle vapes on a cross-UK basis, what room will the bill leave for Scotland to be able to take targeted measures, rather than needing to wait for targeted measures to be introduced across the UK?
Where we believe that elements of the bill will come into devolved competencies—and public health is a devolved competency—we would do the necessary work on that, probably along with Public Health Scotland, which has just been speaking and giving evidence to you. We would be able to do that under devolved competencies.
Thank you.
I thank the minister and her officials for attending the meeting this morning.
As is currently planned, this will be the final meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee in this parliamentary session. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have engaged with the committee and contributed to its work programme over the course of session 6. I also thank my fellow committee members for their constructive and collaborative contributions over the course of the session.
11:14
Meeting continued in private until 11:33.
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Public Health Scotland