Christopher Chope
This page was last edited on at
-
Christopher Chope, Tobacco Tactics, updated 28 October 2020, accessed 11 April 2024.
Christopher Chope became the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch (Dorset, England) in May 1997.1
From 1983 to 1992, Chope was the MP for Southampton.
Relationship with Tobacco Industry
Accepted Tobacco Hospitality
Chope has taken tobacco industry hospitality on several occasions.
2015 – Chope accepted two tickets and hospitality to the Wimbledon tennis tournament worth £440 from British American Tobacco (BAT).2 Chope also accepted one ticket and hospitality for the England versus Australia Rugby World Cup match from Japan Tobacco International (JTI), valued at £1,650.2
2014 – Chope accepted two tickets to the Chelsea Flower show worth £1,404.00 from JTI.3
2013 – Chope accepted two lots of hospitality from JTI. In June he accepted two tickets to the Glyndebourne Opera Festival worth £1,534, and in November he accepted two tickets to Twickenham (rugby) worth £400.4
2010 – In February, Chope accepted a £750 donation/hospitality from EUK Consulting, for himself and his wife at a Conservative Party function in Battersea Park.5 EUK Consulting is a European public affairs consultancy that has a long history of working with tobacco companies and has regularly donated to British political parties and MPs.
Chope’s actions breached the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which the UK Government is a signatory. The FCTC states that parties should “interact with the tobacco industry only when and to the extent strictly necessary to enable them to effectively regulate the tobacco industry and tobacco products”.6
For more details, see Tobacco Industry Hospitality for UK Politicians.
Voted Against Plain Packaging
A 2015 report7 from the BMJ reported that 38 MPs had accepted tobacco industry hospitality worth over £60,000 since 2010. The report further revealed that 20 of those 38 MPs (including Chope) had voted against the introduction of plain packaging, a tobacco control measure vociferously opposed by the tobacco industry.8910
Chope was also one of the 50 MPs who in 2012 wrote to then Health Secretary Andrew Lansley expressing serious concerns over plain packaging proposals.11 The letter claimed:
“There is no reliable evidence that plain packaging will have any public health benefit; no country in the world has yet to introduce it. However, such a measure could have extremely negative consequences elsewhere. The proposal will be a smuggler’s charter. … this policy threatens more than 5,500 jobs directly employed by the UK tobacco sector, and over 65,000 valued jobs in the associated supply chain. … Given the continued difficult economic climate, businesses should not be subjected to further red tape and regulation”
Publication of the Chantler Review 2014
On 3 April 2014, the Chantler review of the evidence for plain packaging was published.12
Sir Cyril Chantler concluded in contrast:
Having reviewed the evidence it is in my view highly likely that standardised packaging would serve to reduce the rate of children taking up smoking and implausible that it would increase the consumption of tobacco. I am persuaded that branded packaging plays an important role in encouraging young people to smoke and in consolidating the habit irrespective of the intentions of the industry. (p6)12
The Health Minister Jane Ellison announced in the House of Commons that the Government would, as a result of the review, conduct another brief consultation on the proposed legislation.13 During the House of Commons debate on 3 April 2014, Chope asked Ellison: “What evidence is there that young people do not access illegal drugs as much because they are sold in plain packages?”14 When Chope asked this question he first stated that: “I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.”
Ellison referred Chope to the Chantler Review “where he will find 30-odd pages of extremely well-argued, authoritative comment by someone who has looked very deeply and widely at the issues over the past few months.”
Government Announces Intention to Proceed with Plain Packaging
On 21 January 2015 Ellison announced that the government was to bring plain packaging regulations before the May 2015 General Election.
According to a piece in the British media, Chope responded to the news as “very disappointing”, “the wrong decision” and a decision that “does not reflect the evidence.”15
Tabled Private Members Bill to Roll Back E-cigarette Regulation
On 5 September 2017, Chope tabled a Private Members’ Bill to roll back e-cigarette regulation in the UK.16
The purpose of the Bill was to:
“Make provision for the regulation of the sale and use of electronic cigarettes; to exempt electronic cigarettes from UK law derived from the Tobacco Products Directive; and for connected purposes.”16
According to market research company EcigIntelligence, Chope is a member of the (APPG) for Vaping (E-Cigarettes), and his proposal one of a “list of Brexit-inspired legislative proposals.17 Although unlikely to be adopted according to the market research company, Chope’s proposal “could provide an opportunity for the industry to have some of the issues facing it discussed in the UK Parliament”.17
On 20 October 2020, Chope introduced a new Electronic Cigarette Regulation Bill to the House of Commons for 2019-2021.1819
Affiliations
Chope is a council member of The Freedom Association (TFA), a libertarian campaign group.20
TobaccoTactics Resources
- Plain Packaging in the UK
- Members of UK Parliament Opposed to Plain Packaging
- Tobacco Industry Hospitality for UK Politicians
- (APPG) for Vaping (E-Cigarettes)
- The Freedom Association
Relevant Link
Profile of Christopher Chope on UK Parliament website.
