Great Britain: The new Health Minister and her pro-tobacco past

Britain's new Health Secretary, who is also Deputy Prime Minister in the new Truss government, Therese Coffey, has distinguished herself by numerous positions opposing various anti-smoking measures and displays relative closeness to the tobacco industry, according to information available on the University of Bath's Tobacco Tactics website.

On September 6, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, appointed her cabinet, which is conservative and liberal in economic terms. Therese Coffey, appointed Minister of Health, has been a Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal in England since 2010. Before taking up her post at the Ministry of Health, Therese Coffey served successively as Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions.[1].

Gifts from Japan Tobacco International to the Minister

According to information available on Tobacco Tactics, as well as on the Register of Financial Interests of MPs, Therese Coffey accepted a gift from the tobacco company Gallaher worth over £1,100, corresponding to two invitation tickets to attend the Chelsea Flower Show, a floral exhibition organized in the city of Chelsea. The tobacco company Gallaher is also a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco International (JTI). This donation was part of a broader approach by the multinational, which had spent over $23,000 over six months on various gifts for twenty MPs. As the Daily Mail revealed at the time, nine of them had voted against a bill banning smoking in cars carrying children, including the current Health Minister.[2].

Therese Coffey's Many Pro-Tobacco Positions

The ban on smoking in cars around children isn't the only anti-smoking measure Therese Coffey has opposed. In October 2010, she also spoke out in favor of relaxing smoke-free regulations, notably reversing the ban on smoking in bars and nightclubs. Later, in 2012, the current Health Minister, in an open letter to the then Secretary of State for Health, signed by 50 MPs, spoke out against the introduction of plain packaging. The arguments raised in the letter are similar to those put forward by the tobacco industry. The MP then subscribed to the analysis according to which there is no proof of the effectiveness of such a measure, that the adoption of plain packaging would result in a boost to tobacco smuggling, and would result in serious economic consequences for various businesses, leading to job losses. However, studies carried out after the fact have refuted these allegations, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the measure.[3].

FT

[1] Tobacco Tactics, Therese Coffey, 06/16/2020, (accessed 09/07/2022)

[2] Dailymail, Tobacco firm gave thousands of pounds worth of hospitality to nine MPs who opposed smoking bill, 11/23/2011, (accessed 09/07/2022)

[3] Hiscock R, Augustin NH, Branston JR, et al, Longitudinal evaluation of the impact of standardized packaging and minimum excise tax on tobacco sales and industry revenue in the, UK, Tobacco Control 2021;30:515-522.

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