Campaign against glitzy cigarette packaging launches in the North West to protect children from smoking

Thousands of people in the North West are set to urge the government to take action to curb tobacco industry marketing and protect children from cigarettes – as a national public consultation into plain, standardised tobacco packaging is announced today – Monday 16^th April.

The ‘Plain Packs Protect’ campaign in the North West, supported by Tobacco Free Futures, has been launched to highlight that tobacco packaging is now an important way in which the tobacco industry engages new young smokers, and will support the public, the majority of whom are in favour of this measure, to respond to the government.

Two thirds of smokers start before they are 18^[i] and smoking is still the North West’s biggest killer, claiming the lives of 35 people a day^[ii].

The government consultation will ask for the public’s view on the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products to reduce the number of young people who take up smoking.

Findings from a new YouGov survey reveal that when shown an image of a plain pack, 62 per cent of adults in the North West and in England support the requirement for tobacco to be sold in plain, standardised packaging with the product name in standard lettering^[iii] and a recent British Heart Foundation survey reported that 86 per cent of young people surveyed in the North West thought plain packs were less attractive than branded packs^[iv].

Dr Sian Snelling, Deputy Medical Director and Consultant Paediatrician at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said: “Any measure which will contribute to a reduction in childhood smoking is one which we at Alder Hey will support. The earlier a child or young person becomes a regular smoker, the greater their risk of developing life threatening conditions such as lung cancer or heart disease.

“Those who start smoking under the age of 16 years are more likely to continue to smoke as adults. Making cigarettes less appealing, through the removal of bright, colourful packaging can help to reduce the attraction of cigarettes and is a positive step to improving the health of children and young people across the North West.”

Plain, standardised packaging of tobacco products will impact on smoking in three key ways: it will reduce the attractiveness to young people; curb misleading health messages and increase the prominence of the picture health warnings on packs, making them more impactful.

Andrea Crossfield, Director of Tobacco Free Futures said: “Smoking is a childhood addiction.  In the North West a phenomenal 4 out of 5 children who try smoking do so before they are 14 years old. 81 per cent of young people also think that the Government should do more to tackle smoking^[v].

“The tobacco industry spends a lot of time and money targeting young people because they have potential to be customers for life. The introduction of plain, standardised packaging would mean a victory for our children and a defeat for the tobacco industry, who have described the pack as their ‘silent salesman’.

“We want people to support the introduction of plain, standardised packaging for tobacco products as a measure to prevent children and young people from taking up smoking, and a lifetime of addiction.”

“I urge everyone to tell the government that they support this measure to help to turn off the tap of new smokers, through responding to the consultation at www.tobaccofreefutures.org and help make smoking history for children.”

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