Public Health (Wales) Bill passed by the National Assembly
On 16 May 17 the National Assembly for Wales passed the Public Health (Wales) Bill. The Bill is designed to help people live healthier lives.
The Bill’s purpose is to protect young people’s health by banning smoking in areas where they’re most likely to be exposed. Protecting young people at an early age should help prevent them becoming long-term smokers; research shows that almost half of long-term smokers begin before leaving school.
The Bill also raises the legal minimum age for intimate piercings and sale of tobacco or nicotine products to 18. Once signed into law, it will create a new licencing and regulatory system for companies selling tobacco, nicotine products, or those offering acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and tattooing.
The Minister for Social Service and Public Health, Rebecca Evans AM, stated that “all of us will benefit from the requirements on public bodies to assess how their decisions will affect people’s physical and mental health,” which were also included in the Bill.
For more information on the Bill, please the National Assembly website, here, and the Minister for Social Service and Public Health’s statement here.
ASH Wales Cymru, a tobacco control campaign group, has produced a statement on the smoking aspects of the bill, here.
