East Lancashire MPs urged to back plain cigarette packaging

1:27pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News

MPs in Lancashire are being urged to tell the government to take a tougher stance on tobacco promotion.

This comes as new figures reveal an estimated 18,000 children start smoking every year in the North West.

Tobacco Free Futures has called upon the government to commit to legislation for the introduction of plain, standardised packaging of cigarettes.

The changes would put an end to glossy packs aimed at young people, and protect future generations from tobacco promotion.

Smoking ultimately kills half of all long-term users, affecting 78,500 across the UK, a number which grows by 430 every day.

Andrea Crossfield, director of Tobacco Free Futures, said: “We are urging MPs to listen, commit and legislate and put cigarettes in standard packs and help end the disgraceful scandal of tobacco marketing for good.

“In the North West 86 per cent of young people thought plain packs were less attractive than branded packs.”

Comments (3)

6:37pm Wed 13 Feb 13

BuckoTheMoose says...

Codswallop.
Packs are not advertising. Packs are branding and their purpose is to gain market share among existing smokers.

Packs are not trying to promote tobacco to children, no matter how many times you say they are.

Nobody has ever taken up smoking because they think the pack is pretty. Ever. This is about denormalising adult smokers, nothing to do with children. It's just another part of the hatred of the tobacco control industry.

“In the North West 86 per cent of young people thought plain packs were less attractive than branded packs.”
That's laughable nonsense. I've seen the study. Some 6-7 year old kids wereshown normal fag packs and those green ones with pictures of rotting body parts on them and asked which they prefer. What do you think they're going to say?
The study had nothing to do with finding out if fag packs will make primary school kids take up smoking, all it did was find out what colours they prefer.

Typical tobacco control industry lies and misinformation, and this rubbish is paid for by our taxes.

Tobacco free futures is funded by the state. It is not a charity.
Codswallop. Packs are not advertising. Packs are branding and their purpose is to gain market share among existing smokers. Packs are not trying to promote tobacco to children, no matter how many times you say they are. Nobody has ever taken up smoking because they think the pack is pretty. Ever. This is about denormalising adult smokers, nothing to do with children. It's just another part of the hatred of the tobacco control industry. “In the North West 86 per cent of young people thought plain packs were less attractive than branded packs.” That's laughable nonsense. I've seen the study. Some 6-7 year old kids wereshown normal fag packs and those green ones with pictures of rotting body parts on them and asked which they prefer. What do you think they're going to say? The study had nothing to do with finding out if fag packs will make primary school kids take up smoking, all it did was find out what colours they prefer. Typical tobacco control industry lies and misinformation, and this rubbish is paid for by our taxes. Tobacco free futures is funded by the state. It is not a charity. BuckoTheMoose

8:57am Thu 14 Feb 13

Hands Off Our Packs says...

Something is going seriously wrong with democracy here. A Government-funded group is applying pressure to the Government for more legislation. This ridiculous cycle of money-pressure-legis
lation-money etc must surely come to an end. It's not democracy if the Government is only listening to those in its payroll. 500,000 people submitted responses to the public (not public sector!) consultation saying they opposed plain packaging. Isn't it time Government listened to the concerns of the rest of the population - rather than just those with easy access to the corridors of power?
Something is going seriously wrong with democracy here. A Government-funded group is applying pressure to the Government for more legislation. This ridiculous cycle of money-pressure-legis lation-money etc must surely come to an end. It's not democracy if the Government is only listening to those in its payroll. 500,000 people submitted responses to the public (not public sector!) consultation saying they opposed plain packaging. Isn't it time Government listened to the concerns of the rest of the population - rather than just those with easy access to the corridors of power? Hands Off Our Packs

1:18pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Steve Wintersgill says...

I notice the 'journalist' responsible for this was sensible enough not to put their name to it, at least they evidently have enough about them to realise what an embarrassing load of old tosh this article is.

"...The changes would put an end to glossy packs aimed at young people, and protect future generations from tobacco promotion..." - and the evidence for these 'glossy packs aimed at young people' is what exactly? Oh there isn't any? What a surprise. I imagine the author (and the taxpayer funded lobby group being reported on) would prefer everyone to buy plainly packaged cigarettes from a bloke in a nice, plain, unmarked white van, that way recorded purchases of tobacco will decline and they can produce some more 'research' telling us all how successful their previous efforts were.

Also, I was under the impression that the display ban was supposed to solve all of the problems that we're now being told will be solved by plain packaging, although the LET seems to have gone a little quiet on the 'success' of that little waste of retailers' money.
I notice the 'journalist' responsible for this was sensible enough not to put their name to it, at least they evidently have enough about them to realise what an embarrassing load of old tosh this article is. "...The changes would put an end to glossy packs aimed at young people, and protect future generations from tobacco promotion..." - and the evidence for these 'glossy packs aimed at young people' is what exactly? Oh there isn't any? What a surprise. I imagine the author (and the taxpayer funded lobby group being reported on) would prefer everyone to buy plainly packaged cigarettes from a bloke in a nice, plain, unmarked white van, that way recorded purchases of tobacco will decline and they can produce some more 'research' telling us all how successful their previous efforts were. Also, I was under the impression that the display ban was supposed to solve all of the problems that we're now being told will be solved by plain packaging, although the LET seems to have gone a little quiet on the 'success' of that little waste of retailers' money. Steve Wintersgill

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