Plain packs limit marketing power
13 February 2013
Anti-smoking campaigners are calling for the government to commit to plain packaging for cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The Smokefree Action Coalition, of which the BMA is a part, wants the Department of Health to publish the results of its consultation on standardised packaging that ended more than six months ago.
The alliance of 190 health organisations is also calling for a formal announcement that the new legislation will go ahead.
The BMA response to the UK-wide consultation stressed that plain packaging could make it easier for smokers to quit, prevent relapses and discourage young people from taking up the habit.
BMA director of professional activities Vivienne Nathanson said: ‘The introduction of standardised packaging would limit the marketing power associated with branding, and reduce the appeal of tobacco products to consumers, particularly young people.’
Ten years ago this week most tobacco advertising was banned in the UK and it is seven years since the Commons voted in favour of smoke-free legislation.