HC Deb 10 November 1998 vol 319 cc138-40
9. Mr. David Rendel (Newbury)

When the White Paper on tobacco will be published. [57357]

The Minister for Public Health (Ms Tessa Jowell)

Soon.

Mr. Rendel

Given that there are now hundreds of deaths every day from tobacco-related diseases, does the Minister agree that it is vital to discourage children from ever taking up smoking in the first place and that school nurses have an important part to play in that? What steps does she intend to take to ensure that there are no further cuts in the community school nursing service such as, sadly, are now threatened in Berkshire?

Ms Jowell

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of protecting children from the impact of tobacco advertising and of taking every effective step to make it very hard for them to get hold of cigarettes. However, there is more to it than that—we have to change young people's attitude towards cigarettes and, in turn, change their behaviour, making them not want to buy cigarettes. I entirely agree that school nurses have a very important role to play in this, as do parents and teachers and the whole range of professionals with whom children come into contact. Measures to prevent children from smoking are already an important part of the healthy schools programme and will feature very specifically in the tobacco White Paper.

Mr. Kevin Barron (Rother Valley)

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the answer that she gave to the initial question simply means that the frustration felt for many months now by the health lobby will continue? However, more important than the publication of the White Paper is that it should be comprehensive and should address the issues around smoking, which has for decades been the biggest killer in this country. I am pleased that we now have a Government who are prepared to take on these issues on behalf of the public.

Ms Jowell

I thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to the very great efforts that he made while in opposition to try to protect children from the impact of tobacco advertising. It is in no small part due to his efforts that we now have, for the first time, a comprehensive Europe-wide ban on the advertising and promotion of tobacco. The way in which that will be implemented in the United Kingdom will be set out in detail in the forthcoming White Paper. There is impatience about the publication of the White Paper and getting the policy implemented. We have worked with impatience and a sense of urgency over the past 18 months because absolutely nothing was done in the previous 18 years.

Mr. Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire)

If the Minister believes that school nurses have an important role to play in this and other respects, will she explain why Cambridge and Huntingdon health authority has effectively abolished the role of school nurses? Will she undertake to evaluate what the adverse implications of that have been before other health authorities, such as that mentioned by the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Rendel), go down the same path?

Ms Jowell

No doubt the hon. Gentleman will be pleased that his constituents will be receiving £14.7 million more for their health care, which will go some way to dealing with precisely the problems that he identifies. Yes, I do think that the contribution of health visitors and school nurses should be effectively evaluated so that we can ensure that what they do is based on the best possible evidence that it will work in practice.

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