Rishi Sunak has refused to ban football shirts with vape company logos despite concerns about the message this sends to children.
The PM, who has pledged to tackle a boom in youth vaping, said advertising decisions were up to individual teams. This is despite Premier League clubs banning gambling sponsors from being featured on the front of match-day shirts from the summer of 2026, after pressure from MPs.
At PMQS, SNP MP Kirsten Oswald asked Mr Sunak: “We already know that more than one in five teenagers are vaping, with some experts describing this as an epidemic and yesterday new research suggested that teenagers who vape could be at risk of exposure to toxic metals, potentially harming brain or organ development.
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“I agree with the Prime Minister in his wish to reduce the harms caused by smoking and vaping with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Will he agree with me that permitting football strips to be sponsored by vaping companies sends entirely the wrong message to young people and that it’s now time to ban vape companies advertising on sports strips.”
But the PM failed to agree with her, instead saying: “Can I thank the honourable lady for her question. Obviously decisions about kit sponsorship will rest with individual teams but I do agree with her that it is important that we do everything we can to tackle the scourge of teenage vaping which is why I am glad she supports our Bill, which will clamp down on the marketing, availability of flavours, targeting point of sale purchases, but also improving funding for trading standards to clamp down on those selling vapes illegally to children.”
The call comes after the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which legislates to ban the sale of cigarettes to people born after 2009 and make vaping less attractive to young people, passed its second reading last week.
Ms Oswald, the East Renfrewshire MP, has been campaigning since 2022 to raise awareness of the detrimental impacts of vaping on children. She has previously called out sponsorship deals between sports clubs and vape brands, including the deal between Blackburn Rovers and Totally Wicked.
Steve Brine, a former health minister and chair of the Commons Health and Social Care committee, has previously criticised the deal, saying: “I would ask Blackburn Rovers to look themselves in the mirror about that one, as much as the company that are doing the advertising. Because it takes two to tango. So yeah, I am concerned about it.”
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Ahead of PMQs Ms Oswald added: “Following the very welcome legislation to ban disposable vapes and create a smoke-free generation, it now makes sense to take steps to limit children’s exposure to vapes – and that starts with scrapping the promotion of vape brands by sports clubs.
“We know that many children have a favourite football team or sports star, and pay attention to the kits they wear and their stadiums and sports grounds, therefore, they should not be promoting items that are harmful to their health. Sports teams should positively influence our young people.
“The Scottish Government has proposed to prohibit sports clubs entering into sponsorship deals that promote the use of vape products – I am urging the UK government to do the same. We would find it unacceptable if our football club, rugby team or favourite tennis player etc, came out with cigarette branding on their shirts – it must also be the case for the vape products that are harmful to our children’s health.”