Chris Whitty urges MPs to ignore lobbying and pass smoking ban bill

Exclusive: England’s chief medical officer says tobacco industry is the ‘one gainer from the death and disease’ caused by its products

• Read Chris Whitty’s comment piece in full

Chris Whitty has said lobbying by big tobacco “needs to be addressed head on”, as email evidence emerged of campaigning tactics being used to put pressure on MPs to sink Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban bill.

The landmark legislation, which would bar anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes and make England the first country in the world to ban smoking, is due to be debated in parliament for the first time on Tuesday.