The Labour-led Welsh government has suffered a hugely embarrassing defeat over a landmark plan to introduce a ban on e-cigarettes from many enclosed spaces.
Labour ministers were poised to introduce a wide-ranging ban on vaping in places where children are likely to be present, making the argument that the practice normalised smoking.
But the public health (Wales) bill – a key element of the government’s legislative programme – failed at the last hurdle in farcical circumstances after a Labour minister “belittled” political opponents who were set to help it on to the statute book.
Shortly before the vote, Leighton Andrews, the public services minister, described the Welsh nationalists, Plaid Cymru, as a “cheap date”. The Plaid group met and decided to vote against the bill, which therefore failed because Labour does not have a majority on the assembly.
This is the exchange that caused Plaid to remove support from the Public Health Bill https://t.co/BIg2LHDNxX pic.twitter.com/Ekjc9ERX7t
— ITV News Wales (@ITVWales) March 16, 2016
The loss of the bill will be welcomed by many health campaigners who felt that any ban on e-cigarettes would discourage smokers trying to quit by turning to vaping.
But it is a blow to Labour that a centrepiece of its programme was lost on the last day of the current assembly. Labour’s record on health is constantly attacked by the Tories in Westminster and Cardiff and it will be a key issue in the campaign for May’s assembly elections.
The government’s plan had been to outlaw vaping in Wales in areas ranging from schools and colleges to restaurants, shops, cinemas and sports grounds. A ban would have been a UK first.
As well as control of e-cigarettes, the bill included plans to create a compulsory, national licensing system for acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and tattooing. It featured proposals to prohibit intimate piercing – including tongue piercing – of under-16s in Wales and changes to pharmacy services. All were lost.
Mark Drakeford, the health and social services minister, said he was deeply disappointed. He said: “It puts to waste five years of careful preparation and constructive work with a very wide range of stakeholders and supporters.Today was ... an opportunity to protect a generation who have grown up in a smoke-free environment from re-normalising smoking.”
Labour holds 30 of the assembly’s 60 seats and was confident that some Plaid members would lend it their vote. However, that was made untenable by Andrews’ “cheap date” comment.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “On the very last day of the assembly, Leighton Andrews has shown a disrespect for parties and individual AMs seeking to create a consensus across political divides. He chose to belittle cooperation and put his own government’s legislation in jeopardy.”
Elin Jones, one of the Plaid AMs who was expected to vote for the ban, tweeted: “I worked with Labour on a fair compromise on e-cigs, but my party is not their ‘cheap date’.”
Today I voted against the Gov's PublicHealth Bill. I worked with Labour on a fair compromise on ecigs,but my party is not their 'cheap date'
— Elin Jones (@ElinCeredigion) March 16, 2016
The Liberal Democrats had argued that the proposal flew in the face of medical evidence – but also criticised Plaid’s tactic.
Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “This is a decision that will affect thousands of people, yet Plaid decided to vote based on whether they were a ‘cheap date’ or not. While that is utterly bizarre and somewhat farcical, I of course welcome their U-turn.”
Cancer Research UK had spoken out against the proposed ban. George Butterworth, its manager of tobacco policy, said: “Evidence shows e-cigarettes – while not risk-free – are much safer than tobacco cigarettes and are mainly used by adult smokers to cut down or quit. There’s also a lack of evidence to back the fears that the use of e-cigarettes harms bystanders or encourages children to take up smoking – child smoking has continued to plummet since their entry to the market.”
