The Scottish Government has today announced its new long-awaited tobacco control strategy.
Earlier this week we learned that it would include a ban on smoking on all hospital grounds.
Now we are told that it includes support for standardised packaging and "improved education to create a tobacco-free nation" by 2034.
The key actions include:
Many of our favourite tobacco control campaigners are quoted in the press release that accompanied the announcement:
Sheila Duffy, chief Executive, ASH Scotland, “We owe it to our children to make this happen.”
Dr Harpal Kumar, chief executive, Cancer Research UK:: “We share the Scottish Government’s vision of a Scotland free from tobacco and the commitment to introduce plain packaging is a real step forward in the fight to protect children from tobacco addiction.
Ben McKendrick, British Heart Foundation Scotland: “It’s fantastic to see the Scottish Government leading the way again on tobacco measures to protect health, and giving a commitment to de-glamorise tobacco packaging ...”
Linda Bauld, professor of health policy, University of Stirling: “As part of the other actions set out in this strategy, plain packaging will have a key role to play in driving down smoking rates in Scotland in the future."
Here is Forest's response:
Campaigners have criticised the Scottish Government's support for standardised packaging of tobacco, announced today.
Support for the measure is included in a new tobacco control strategy that aims to create a smoke-free nation by 2034.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest which runs the Hands Off Our Packs campaign, said:
"We support all reasonable measures, including education, that will discourage children from smoking. Plain packaging is unreasonable because there is no credible evidence that it will have any impact on youth smoking rates.
"There is a real risk that standardised packaging, like excessive taxation, will encourage illicit trade and if that happens those at greatest risk will be children because criminal gangs don't care who they sell cigarettes to.
"Plain packaging is designed to denormalise a legal product and millions of adult consumers. What next? Alcohol, fizzy drinks and fast food?"
The Scottish Government's new tobacco control strategy can be viewed here.
Update: BBC News Scotland has the story, with our response, here - Ministers aim to make Scotland 'tobacco free' by 2034.
See also: Plain cigarette packaging wins Scottish Government support (Huffington Post).
We have also been quoted by the Scotsman: Cigarettes and tobacco to be sold in plain packs. Worth commenting.
The Scotsman headline is incorrect, btw. To the best of our knowledge the Scottish Government has no authority in this area.
Angela Harbutt has more to say on this on the Hands Off Our Packs blog: Scottish government can't go it alone – Westminster holds key to plain packaging in Scotland.