Gerard Hastings, Professor of Social Marketing and founder/director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling and The Open University, tells Platform why banning cigarette packaging in the UK would be the right move...
“Our children’s lives just got healthier: two important tobacco control measures have been announced by the Government on Wednesday (9 March 2011). First tobacco products are to be put out of sight at the point of sale. From next year our children will be able to go into supermarkets without being ambushed by tobacco companies’ marketing efforts. The increasingly elaborate gantries, displays and kiosks that have been used to groom children (and tempt back adult quitters) will be no more. Smaller shops will be making similar changes but have been given longer to do so, until 2015 to be precise. This is a regrettable delay but much better late than never.
The second measure is only under consideration at the moment, but is nonetheless welcome. It will involve the removal of all branding and liveries from cigarette packs, which would turn the packs into standardised, plain boxes carrying only the health warnings and other statutory information. A variety of studies have shown that this has three principal benefits: it makes the health warning more prominent; the industry’s seductive branding much less so; and stymies the deceptive practice of using colour to hint at spurious health advantages. This has convinced the Australian Government to act now, and packs there will be made safe next year. The UK Government is being more cautious and has simply committed to review the evidence and conduct a consultation.
Both steps – tobacco propaganda free shops and plain packs – are really just unfinished business. When the ad ban was introduced in 2003, the aim was to protect our children from all tobacco promotion. The tobacco industry has deliberately used its packs and its POS display to try and thwart this aim – now Government is acting to reassert the will of Parliament.”
Read more about Gerard's research into tobacco.
