The Regulatory Policy Committee published a new transparency release on 15 September 2026 setting out correspondence with tobacco industry representatives. On GOV.UK, the RPC said the material was being published in line with government guidance on engagement with the tobacco industry and article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. (gov.uk) The publication contains four sets of incoming letters or emails and four replies. The named correspondents are the Imported Tobacco Products Advisory Council, Hunters & Frankau, the Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists and Tor Imports Ltd. (gov.uk)
The replies, all sent on 14 September 2026 and signed by RPC chair Stephen Gibson, show a consistent response. Each organisation had asked for a meeting with the RPC secretariat about impact assessments linked to the ongoing consultation on regulating tobacco, vaping and nicotine products. (gov.uk) In each case, the RPC said it was unable to meet and directed the organisations to send any comments on the consultation-stage impact assessments to the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the formal consultation response process. The practical effect is that the industry route remains written, public and consultation-based rather than a separate bilateral discussion with the committee. That final point is an inference from the published replies and the consultation process. (gov.uk)
The reason given is article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. DHSC guidance states that article 5.3 applies across government, including arm’s length bodies, and requires public policy on tobacco control to be protected from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. (gov.uk) That same guidance says departments and public bodies should publish correspondence received from tobacco industry representatives, replies sent to them and minutes of any meetings. It also says interactions should occur only when strictly necessary for effective regulation and with maximum transparency. (gov.uk)
The correspondence sits alongside a live four-nation consultation on proposals under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. According to the consultation document on GOV.UK, ministers are seeking views on tobacco packaging, vaping and nicotine product packaging, the appearance of heated tobacco devices and vapes, and retail display rules for tobacco, vaping and nicotine products. (gov.uk) The consultation remains open until 11.59pm on 2 October 2026. GOV.UK states that responses can include evidence on costs, benefits and implementation, which is the channel the RPC pointed industry representatives towards in its replies. (gov.uk)
The RPC’s role in this process is limited but important. GOV.UK describes the committee as an advisory non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade, with responsibility for scrutinising the quality of evidence and analysis used to support government regulation under the Better Regulation Framework. (gov.uk) In a separate publication dated 7 August 2026, the RPC said it had given green ratings to earlier-stage options assessments for all four tobacco and vapes measures in November 2025. It also recorded that DHSC was not required under the Better Regulation Framework to send the updated consultation-stage impact assessments back for further RPC scrutiny. (gov.uk)
For policy teams, retailers and industry bodies, the immediate significance is procedural rather than legislative. The 15 September item is published on GOV.UK as correspondence under the transparency heading, while the substantive proposals remain within the separate consultation and the Act’s regulation-making powers. (gov.uk) For compliance and governance teams, the release creates a clear audit trail: who wrote, when they wrote, why a meeting was declined and where representations should now be made. In policy terms, this is a process notice with compliance value rather than a new policy announcement. The likely next formal step is a government response to the consultation, followed by draft regulations under the Act if ministers choose to proceed; that final sentence is an inference from the consultation document and the Act’s regulation-making framework. (gov.uk)