Mark Spencer
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Mark Spencer, Tobacco Tactics, updated 03 February 2020, accessed 11 April 2024.
Mark Spencer has been the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Sherwood (Nottinghamshire, England) since May 2010.
Relationship with the Tobacco Industry
Accepted Tobacco Hospitality
In 2012, Spencer accepted a ticket to the Chelsea Flower Show worth £594, and a ticket to the Freedom Dinner valued at £80, from Japan Tobacco International (JTI).1
In May 2011, he accepted two tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show from the tobacco company, worth £1,132.80.2
JTI spent £23,000 entertaining MPs in the UK in six months during 2011.3 For more information on the tobacco industry tactic to offer hospitality to those with influence over the passage of tobacco laws, go to Tobacco Industry Hospitality for UK Politicians.
Opposed Tobacco Control Measures in the UK
Against Plain Packaging
Spencer was one of the 50 MPs who wrote to then Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in 2012 expressing concern over the government’s plain packaging proposals.4
“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.”
TobaccoTactics Resources
- Japan Tobacco International
- Tobacco Industry Hospitality for UK Politicians
- Plain Packaging in the UK
Relevant Link
Profile of Mark Spencer on TheyWorkForYou website.
