26.05.17
BMA calls on government to aim for smoke-free society by 2035
Doctors have today called on the government to introduce a ‘Tobacco Control Plan’ to replace the outdated strategy on smoking in order to drive towards a tobacco-free society by 2035.
This was the message sent this week by the BMA after the government announced standardised cigarette packaging would come into force to cut down on people smoking.
The packaging will mean that all tobacco products will be coloured green, carry bigger health warnings and will only be sold in larger packs – measures that the government hope will deter younger people from taking up smoking.
This also follows a new study last week that revealed that the NHS could save a huge £67m per year through reducing smoking numbers down to 5% of the population.
“Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death in the UK, accounting for around 80,000 deaths a year in England alone. The introduction of standardised packaging this weekend, which the BMA lobbied in favour of for many years, is a significant step forward and will save lives,” stated Professor Parveen Kumar, chair of the BMA’s board of science.
However, the BMA board chair also said that regulation on smoking shouldn’t stop there. “Doctors want to see a tobacco-free society by 2035, and the BMA is calling on the next government to introduce a new ‘Tobacco Control Plan’, replacing the current, outdated strategy on smoking, and a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco companies,” she added.
“This would generate funding to support smoking cessation programmes, and would see many more smokers kicking the habit.”
Cancer Research UK’s director of prevention Alison Cox added: “Smoking is still the single largest preventable cause of death in the UK and kills around 96,000 people every year – this cannot continue.”
Cox also supported the BMA’s call to go even further with the regulation of cigarettes and tobacco products.
“But there’s still a lot more to do,” she said. “There is a real opportunity for the next government to help the UK’s 9 million smokers quit for good.”
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