Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, intervenes, and asks Wes Streeting if Labour is in favour of a consultation on how to implement the vaping restrictions in the bill. Earlier, in response to a previous intervention, Streeting was evasive on this point. Streeting says it is absurd that he is being asked about consultation policy when he is not in government. Atkins asks again. Streeting says she is just trying to curry favour with Tory MPs by attacking him.
But he says the government is perfectly able to carry out a consultation, and he will support them in doing that. Vicky Ford intervenes. She says this is a serious question. She says there are adults who want to switch from smoking to vaping, but who don’t like the taste of flavourless vapes. If the bill bans flavoured vapes , they might not switch. Streeting says that is a sensible point. She says government needs to get the regulation right.