'Cigarettes will not be phased out in Northern Ireland because EU law still holds sway' says DUP MP Ian Paisley

He said that the reason for this is because EU law still applies to Northern Ireland despite Brexit.

This happens under the Northern Ireland Protocol – the post-Brexit blueprint for how trade is supposed to flow throughout the British Isles, which is hated by unionists because it involves checks on goods going from the mainland UK to Northern Ireland as if the Province were still in the EU.

A government minister responded that the Tories should think seriously about whether Westminster can intervene to rewrite the law so that the plan gets enforced in Northern Ireland too.

In October last year, the government produced a command paper setting out its intention to progressively raise the minimum age at which people can buy tobacco.

This is in large part down to the damage the practice has on public health; government statistics state that “there were 506,100 hospital admissions due to smoking in 2019/20, and in 2019 there were 74,800 deaths attributed to smoking among adults aged 35 and over”.

The plan is this: instead of simply saying only those aged 18+ can buy tobacco (as at present), the government will instead make it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.

This was designed to mimic the law in New Zealand (though that country is now reportedly scrapping the policy to help raise tax revenue).

The government also wants to “crack down” on the use of vapes by young people.

In the Commons on Thursday, Mr Paisley said: “The government’s flagship policy for a generational ban on tobacco sales has many health benefits, of which the Leader of the House will no doubt be aware, but is she alarmed that it will not apply in Northern Ireland, where it will be frustrated by the EU tobacco products directive?

"Even if a Northern Ireland Assembly were in place, it could not trump that directive.

"Will she ask for a statement to be made on what is more important: the health of all the people of the United Kingdom, or tobacco policy outlined by the EU?”

Responding, government minister Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, said: “The honourable gentleman will know that one reason we want to get the Executive re-established is to ensure that the people of Northern Ireland are able to make decisions relating to themselves, and that principle also applies to the point that he raises.

"I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has heard his concerns.

"The UK government have previously stepped in and made interventions in the health space.

"Although I note that there would be difficulties with regard to that particular EU directive, I think this is something that the UK government should think long and hard about.”

Mr Paisley has previously spoken up against the move towards plain packaging, designed to cut smoking rates.

In 2016, the News Letter reported that he had even demanded that colleague and former health minister Jim Wells apologise for supporting it.

Mr Wells had posted Twitter: “Pleased to see plain paper packaging for cigarettes is being introduced for Northern Ireland. I approved this when I was health minister.”

However Mr Paisley (whose North Antrim patch had included the huge JTI cigarette factory) hit back at Mr Wells soon after on the same medium, saying: “980 workers in my constituency lost jobs as a result daft policy that will not save one life. You should apologise.”