The strength of opposition to plain packaging of tobacco can now be revealed.
Last week the Forest-run Hands Off Our Packs campaign delivered to the Department of Health the names and addresses of over 235,000 people who are opposed to the measure.
But that was only half of it. Literally.
The number of people actively against plain packaging is closer to 500,000. That's right, HALF A MILLION have registered their opposition.
In a statement issued last night the Tobacco Manufacturers Association reported that:
This unprecedented response represents views from thousands of members of the public as well as retailers, packaging companies, marketing and design firms, manufacturers, wholesalers, politicians, employers, employees, business groups, trade unions, the Intellectual Property community, international business, trade associations and the law enforcement community.
Jaine Chisholm Caunt, secretary general of the TMA, commented:
“Plain packaging is an assault on UK business in the midst of a double dip recession. Plain packs would be far easier to copy, and would therefore be a gift to the criminal gangs behind the illegal trade in tobacco and increase the £3.1bn - £8.5m per day – that is currently lost to the UK Treasury as a result of this crime.
“At best, plain packaging will have no impact on youth smoking, as there is no credible evidence that packaging is a factor in underage smoking. At worst, it could actually increase youth smoking, by driving the availability of smuggled tobacco being sold by criminals in local communities.
These illegal traders do not care who they sell to, and frequently target children. The percentage of children who smoke in the UK is at an historic low – 5%. We feel the government should reduce this figure still further by tackling children’s access to tobacco, through greater investment in enforcement action and tougher penalties targeted at illegal tobacco gangs, and by making proxy purchasing of tobacco illegal, as it is for alcohol.”
See: Half a million oppose plain packaging
To avoid confusion, the figure of 500,000 includes the 236,033 people who signed the Hands Off Our Packs petition. According to the TMA, the total figure "is based on estimated responses into the consultation including signatures, postcards, letters, emails, online responses, consultation response forms etc, many of which have been sent directly to the Department of Health. We await final confirmation of the number of responses from the DH."
As I reported on Tuesday, Plain Packs Protect is claiming 203,114 supporters. According to the PPP website, "This number reflects the total amount of people who have signed up to support the plain packaging of tobacco products, via the Plain Packs Protect Partnership (logos below), British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK websites".
Update: Today's City AM features a short head-to-head style debate between me and Amanda Sandford of ASH. I wrote my piece before the half million figure was announced. See As Australia confirms a law banning branded tobacco packages, should the UK follow suit?.
Simon Clark