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The health secretary, Thérèse Coffey, is expected to delay or cancel the publication of an action plan to tackle smoking, according to The Guardian.
Whitehall sources have reportedly told the publication that Ms Coffey is likely to scrap the plan which was due to be released later this year.
This is thought to be due to Ms Coffey’s personal interests; she is a smoker and has previously voted against an array of smoking policies, including the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, the outlawing of smoking in cars containing children and forcing cigarettes to be sold in plain packs.
However, The Guardian says that there is speculation that proposals that were due to feature in the plan “may yet appear in some other form, possibly in the 10-year cancer plan that ministers do intend to publish”.
Shadow health secretary says it is “extraordinary” that Ms Coffey doesn’t seem to support anti-smoking policies
In an interview with LBC radio, Ms Coffey said that she “doesn’t have personal views on these sorts of matters”.
Ms Coffey also admitted that she wasn’t sure if the target of achieving a non-smoking Britain by 2030 was on track to be achieved, because she hasn’t “looked into this specific policy”.
When asked about why she voted against the outlawing of smoking in cars containing children, the health secretary said: “Probably because I don’t think it is the right to be doing to be telling parents how to handle the situation.”
Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has criticised Ms Coffey’s approach to smoking; he said: “Successive governments have taken practical measures to reduce smoking and to reduce harm, especially for children on things like the smoking ban in cars.
“I find it extraordinary we’ve a Health Secretary that doesn’t even seem to support the policy.”
Department of health and social care said they are committed to the plan
Following the interview, the Department of Health and Social Care said there had been no plans to delay or cancel the publication of the smoking action plan. However, they did not provide a date of when it would be published.
A spokesperson said: “It is inaccurate to suggest that the tobacco control plan has been scrapped and the Government remains committed to its smoke-free ambition by 2030.
“We will set out our next steps for the plan in due course.”