From 1 December cigarettes in Australia must be sold in dark olive brown packets which are mostly covered in health warnings. Health charities in the UK, including the British Heart Foundation, want the UK Government here to introduce similar legislation.
Currently, tobacco companies can use distinctive colours, brand designs and logos on their packaging. Research has shown that plain packaging would reduce tobacco’s attractiveness, increase the effectiveness of health warnings and stop misleading claims about the harms of smoking.
The UK Government has recently conducted a public consultation on the issue and is considering whether to bring forward legislation on standardising the packaging of tobacco products for the whole of the UK.
Graham Evans MP, said: “Cigarette marketing has changed dramatically in recent years and packaging remains the last form of advertising. We have a duty to do all we can to prevent a generation of new smokers taking up a lethal habit. I strongly support plain, standardised packs will remove the last veneer of glamour of what is a very unglamorous past time.”
