"Mums and grans" support plain packs say Cancer Research
Monday, August 26, 2013 at 5:12 The results of YouGov's latest poll on plain packaging were released on Friday but embargoed until midnight last night.
According to Cancer Research, which commissioned the survey, "Mums and grans back plain, standardised packaging to protect children from tobacco marketing".
While the UK government remains unsure about the effectiveness of removing glamorous packaging on cigarettes, eight in ten women have less doubt and agree that bright, colourful packaging tends to make products more attractive to children aged under 18 according to new figures published by Cancer Research UK today.
The YouGov survey of more than 2000 women in the UK also showed that 85 per cent of all mothers and grandmothers with children under 18 believe that children should not be exposed to any tobacco marketing. And 92 per cent would be worried about their children if they became addicted to smoking before the age of 18.
This was Forest's response:
"There is no credible evidence that children start smoking because of cigarette packaging. Teenagers are influenced primarily by their peers and family members. The introduction of plain packaging could fuel the black market and that would be far worse for children because criminal gangs don't care who they sell to.
"The Government has rightly decided to wait until hard evidence is available that supports plain packaging. To its credit it has also taken into account the views of hundreds of thousands of people who responded to the public consultation on standardised packaging. A huge majority were against the policy, and with good reason."
Surprisingly, those perennial cheerleaders for tobacco control – the BBC and the Guardian – have ignored the poll completely.
In fact, despite this being a bank holiday and therefore a slow news day, early indications are that the Independent is the only national daily that has run the story (Colourful cigarette packs do appeal to children, say UK mums).
Needless to say this apology for a newspaper doesn't include a quote by Forest or anyone else opposed to plain packaging.
No matter, the Press Association has rather higher standards so our response is getting plenty of coverage in regional newspapers around the country. See London Evening Standard, Belfast Telegraph, Yorkshire Evening Post, Jersey Evening Post and 61 83 122 155 others.
Update: The Daily Express has the PA report, with Forest's quote, here – Mothers 'fear bright tobacco packs'.
The paper also has a very good leader on the Tobacco Products Directive – 'EU should just butt out', it declares. It's not online yet but I'll link to it if and when it is.
Reader Comments (8)
I do not understand why Cancer Research aren't researching cancer rather than wasting money on opinion polls.
This is a hop,skip and jump away from 'Little fluffy bunnies support plain packs', or 'Every time you look at a fag packet, it makes Baby Jesus cry'.
Mendacious tripe. 'Mums and Grans'. Please.
In any event, without knowing how the questions were phrased, the whole exercise is effectively meaningless...
Here here John! I'm glad I'm not the only one who questions Cancer Research's policies....
Glad to see - as one of its pensioners - that the PA remains in a position to be balanced and objective in its reporting.
This is one reason why, despite being a suvivor of cancer, and a one-time subcriber to CRUK, I have cancelled my subscription and will no longer put 10p in a tin being rattled in front of me (alhough I suspect that ratltlng tins is somewhat beneath CRUK, these days.)
The 'Express' leader is online now.
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/424764/Eu-should-just-butt-out
When I looked a little while ago, there were no comments on either the Express or the Belfast Telegraph. The independent had around 65, mostly from the same few people arguing.
Looks as if the public is getting browned off by propaganda - at last.
There is a basic right we all have in society called free marketing not depending on the product. Then how can we talk about the plain packaging of cigarettes which is abandoning free marketing for a product depending on what it is? Is that not called discrimination of its manufacturer? Also smoking rules in premises must be defined by their use, purpose of existence or function and their owner's will, but not in any event by the state I hope. Therefore, how can this anti-smoking campaign and its turnout not be a specimen of fascism, discrimination and fascist politics?