Tory peer proposed delay on heated tobacco ban after Philip Morris visit | Tobacco industry

A Conservative peer proposed delaying the UK’s proposed ban on heated tobacco, weeks after a leading cigarette company paid for him to visit its research facility in Switzerland.

The tobacco and vapes bill would gradually raise the age at which consumers can buy cigarettes and other tobacco products, making the UK the first major economy to chart a course towards phasing out tobacco altogether.

But the timetable for heated tobacco could be disrupted after Lord Vaizey put forward an amendment that would require more research to be done into the “potential” harms that such products can cause relative to cigarettes.

Vaizey’s proposal came six weeks after he was a guest of Philip Morris International (PMI), whose IQOS product is the world-leading heated tobacco brand, during a two-day…