Government announcement on plain packaging
Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 10:55 Government to make statement in the House of Commons on standardised packaging of tobacco.
Statement expected between 11.15 and 11.30am. Watch this space.
Simon Clark
The government has announced it plans to proceed with plain packaging following a "final short consultation":
Here is Forest's response:
ANTI PLAIN PACK CAMPAIGNERS URGE GOVERNMENT TO KEEP AN "OPEN MIND"
Campaigners have urged the government to keep an "open mind" on plain packaging legislation following an announcement by public health minister Jane Ellison.
According to Ellison the government is currently minded to proceed with plain packaging but will conduct a final short consultation.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest which runs the Hands Off Our Packs campaign, said:
"It makes sense for the government to take its time and consult further but it seems perverse to commit to a policy before those discussions have taken place.
"If further consultation is to have any meaning the government must keep an open mind.
"The final decision on standardised packaging must be based on hard evidence that it stops children smoking. Conjecture and subjective opinion are not enough."
Clark urged the government not to forget the outcome of the public consultation on plain packaging.
"A four-month consultation resulted in over 665,000 responses, two thirds of them opposed to plain packaging.
"We urge government not to ignore those responses which were submitted in good faith.
"Failure to take into account the result of a public consultation would leave a very bad taste and could alienate a large number of voters, many of whom could be driven to vote for Ukip in protest."
I'm off to do Five Live and possibly the World at One on Radio 4.
Reader Comments (10)
An open mind? As if. We alredy had consultation and the public said a resounding NO to plain packaging.
These stupid, naive politicians have been so manipulated by the smokerphobic anti smokers that they wouldn't know honesty, truth or real science if it came wrapped up in pink packaging with a silver bow tied around it.
This is a witch hunt. It's an outrageous attack on legitimate consumers and industry.
VOTE UKIP - the Tories have become communists who target groups for discrimination and Labour's snobbery has killed it's chances of ever winning another election again.
The Lib Dems are finished.
If, as you said a couple of minutes ago on Radio Four, "there is not a shred of evidence" that packaging influences cigarette purchase, why do you think tobacco companies spend so much on their design and branding, and why do you think they are so exercised about the possible loss of their packaging? It is naive at best and dishonest at worst to say that they do not design their packaging with sales in mind.
If the government does plan to proceed then that is a bit of a wet toast response.
You should be demanding to know the basis of their decision and what evidence they think they have. This should then be publicly ripped apart on a daily basis for as long as is necessary
Rubber stamping exercise - you bet!
If the government is so convinced about the ‘evidence’ in favour of standardized packaging for cigarettes then why does it feel the need for a “final short consultation” if it didn’t already have reservations about this policy…especially if the evidence from Australia is anything to go by – the only country to have brought this policy in...and which so far has failed and even given rise to a slight increase in smoking prevalence.
The general public voted overwhelmingly against this policy, so why on earth have this consultation in the first place if our voices were always going to be completely ignored – how is that by any stretch of the imagination democratic?
It would appear that this is simply another of those ‘rubber stamping’ exercises that our government is so fond of.
Politicians’ have no right to trample over the intellectual property rights of a perfectly legal product in this way, even the EU have not been prepared to go this far.
I hope tobacco manufactures’ will vigorously protect these rights through the courts should this policy be adopted, and would the taxpayer be prepared to foot the bill for this debacle?
If politicians are able to willfully disregard these important rights on this occasion then they can violate any property rights of any legitimate product with impunity, which would render the whole process of protecting branding, logos’ and patenting totally meaningless.
A rather good article on Con Home by Nick-de Bois. Plain packaging does,nt work, with comments
http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/04/nick-de-bois-mp-plain-packaging-doesnt-work.html
Talking is over,time to move on to something more exciting,something for politicians to really get concerned about.
Nice of Beryl to exhibit her ignorance of IP, brand differentiation and natural free market competition for our amusement. You didn't say you were inviting cabaret tonight, Simon. :)
Most of his independent review appears to have come from here.
http://phrc.lshtm.ac.uk/papers/PHRC_006_Final_Report.pdf
Plain Packaging review. Systematic Report---University of Sterling.
Beryl Wall - grow up. There's nothing wrong with communicating brand and content of tobacco to attract legitimate adult consumers. The issue is supposed to be if companies are targeting children. They're not but your own prejudices, immaturity and hatred of product, industry and consumer, blinds you into accepting regressive policies that will take tobacco control back decades.
In the space of a day the issue has gone from alleged protection of children to measures designed to force informed adults of legal age to quit smoking. The evidence shows that plain packaging doesn't work in achieving that. Evidence does show, however, that all sensible protection to date to stop sales of tobacco to children have been thrown out of the window in one go by this fortuitous boost to the black market.
Smokerphobia clearly harms you and others around you - especially the children.
Free Radical,
Yep, great! Such as .... ?