Prejudice and propaganda - Chief Medical Officer on plain packaging

Extraordinary.

Speaking to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee today, Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies told MPs that early indications from Australia suggest that plain packaging of cigarettes has been effective in reducing consumption.

Excuse me?!

Australia's plain packaging law was enforced at the beginning of December. How the CMO can deduce, a few short weeks later, that the policy is working is beyond me. These things normally take years to bear fruit, if indeed they ever do.

I'd love to see the evidence and how it can be linked directly to plain packaging. It is of course possible that consumption has fallen in Australia these past few weeks (I haven't seen any figures) but, if true, it's quite likely to be a seasonal blip (all those New Year resolutions).

I accept, by the way, that measures such as plain packaging or graphic health warnings may have some initial impact, but the long-term effect is unclear. (With regard to plain packaging, of course, it's totally unproven).

Meanwhile who knows how many smokers – in response to plain packaging – are buying their cigarettes on the black market?

In any case, official consumption figures will always vary slightly from month to month. Before making any statement about the effectiveness of plain packaging, the CMO should show MPs the figures at least a year – probably more – either side of its introduction.

Then again they would also need information about other factors that might affect consumption – a rise in price, for example.

Remarkably, despite this transparent attempt to persuade MPs that plain packaging is linked to a reduction in smoking rates, the CMO also told MPs (with a straight face, apparently) that while she had a personal view on plain packaging, if she expressed it she might prejudice the Government’s consultation!

You couldn't make it up.

PS. One Australian newspaper reported a rather different outcome to plain packaging. Tobacconist claims plain packaging laws aren't working is anecdotal but no more prejudicial to the UK consultation than the CMO's comment.

Curiously she didn't mention it.

Update: According to the CMO, early indications that plain packaging had impacted on the purchase of cigarettes came from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health in Australia.

Would that be the same Department of Health that wrote to the Department of Health in London requesting an extension to the consultation on plain packaging?

Comments

[Ivan D]

I had hoped that this CMO would be an improvement but she has not taken long to show her true colours. This nonsense follows on from her less than straightforward approach to presenting liver diseases data.

Is there any honesty whatsoever left in the medical establishment? Have they no sense of decency or shame?

[Ivan D]

Update: I wouldn't trust a DH bureaucrat, Australian or British to tell the truth about any public health policy. If that is the extent of the CMOs "evidence" then it seems that parliament cannot trust her either. There is no objectivity or integrity whatsoever in public health, so until we see a mass clear out of those who have created that situation we can safely assume that whatever we are being told is almost certainly being spun to suit policy.

[ann]

Seeing as Dave Cameron has stolen UKIP's thunder by offering a referendum on staying in the EU if he's reelected.
And as UKIP's policy is against the smoking ban
Are we to take it that Dave and his party will follow through on this as well and repeal the smoking ban?