12.03.15
Standardised cigarette packaging given green light by MPs
MPs have voted in favour of introducing standardised packaging for cigarettes in the UK, a move welcomed by many across the health sector.
During yesterday’s vote, 367 MPs voted in favour of standardised packaging with 113 against it in a free vote.
It means from 2016 every packet will look the same except for the make and brand name, with graphic photos accompanying health warnings – if the House of Lords also approves the move.
The vote coincided with No Smoking Day, the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF’s) campaign to encourage one million smokers to attempt to quit.
Simon Gillespie, BHF chief executive, said: “This is a landmark victory that will go a long way to reducing smoking rates, improving the nation’s health and saving thousands of lives.
“Too many families are devastated every year by losing a loved one to the deadly consequences of smoking.”
However, the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association branded the move to plain packaging “unnecessary, unjustified and unwanted”.
Earlier this month, though, the Irish Republic introduced a similar law and Australia has had plain packaging since 2012.
Dr Hilary Cass, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said that an estimated 200,000 young people take up smoking each year, many doing so because their family or friends smoke but also because of exposure to tobacco marketing.
“The only way we are going to begin to really change behaviour is by changing the environment – and not marketing these products at the younger generation. We need to make sure smoking isn’t seen as the cool thing to do and measures like standardised packaging will go a long way to support that.”
It is estimated that there are nearly 10 million adult smokers in the UK, around one-fifth of the adult population. BHF added that smoking causes around 100,000 deaths every year, with an estimated 22,000 attributed to cardiovascular conditions.
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Nurses are on the front line of smoking cessation support and witness the devastating effects of smoking first-hand. Smoking results in unnecessary deaths every year in the UK, causing untold pain and suffering for patients and their families, whilst inflicting a significant financial burden on the NHS.
“The independent review undertaken by Sir Cyril Chantler demonstrated how standardised packaging can not only reduce the prevalence of smoking but also the uptake, lessening the risk of children and young adults becoming addicted to cigarettes in future.
“The RCN urges Peers to follow suit next week and play their part in reducing the impact cigarettes have on public health in the UK.”
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