15.08.12
Plain packaging for cigarettes
Source: Andrew, via NHE website
Re: ‘Plain packaging for all tobacco – Cancer Research UK’, NHE, 8/8/12.
I totally disagree with this stance. Tobacco has been an industry in existence for 100s of years. As a smoker I have the freedom of choice to choose if I smoke or not and also what brand I choose. Making packaging the same across the board opens the door to counterfeit products, which would be far worse than reputable brand manufactured.
What about alcohol then? Binge drinking has a far greater impact in the teen sector. Is it a case that alcohol should be in a plain see-through bottle with a plain label that says ‘alcopop’ on it?
Why not focus more on the education of the dangers of smoking than worry about what a packet would look like. Or, is it simply the case that the advertising ban and placing tobacco products behind plain white doors with random pieces of paper stuck on them at supermarkets is not having the desired effect? Tell a kid they can’t do something and it's the first thing they do!
Next – are we smokers going to go to jail for smoking in the open? Yet drunks can walk the streets, get behind the wheel, kill innocent people instantly and get let off for good behaviour!