Plain cigarette packaging: Campaigners jostle for position

By Ian Dunt

Initial skirmishes are taking place over plans to impose plain cigarette packaging, ahead of a public consultation this spring.

Smokers' group Forest has set up an online petition for customers to lobby government ahead of the consultation, which is being backed by an alliance of tobacco control groups including Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).

"Public consultations on tobacco control are effectively public sector consultations," said director Simon Clark.

"Thousands of public workers are deployed to persuade MPs that there is overwhelming support
for the latest tobacco control initiative.

"All over the country groups funded by the taxpayer will be gathering signatures or signing their own petitions. We want to give opponents of pointless regulation the voice they are often denied."

The petition comes after MP Stephen Williams, chairman of the all-party group on smoking and health, challenged tobacco industry defenders to "rise to the challenge" on the issue of plain packaging.

Tobacco companies, who are responsible for Forest's funding, recently took to the high court in Australia to battle attempts to impose plain packaging on their products there.

From December, all tobacco products will be sold in olive green packets, which researchers say is the colour least attractive to smokers.

Even health groups are divided on the issue of plain packaging. One report suggested plain cigarette packaging would actually reduce the cost of the product by between 4.4% and 16.1%, and therefore increase consumption by up to 13.6%.

But Ash, the dominant anti-smoking group in the UK, is still pushing for a quick change in the law.

"We urge the government to ensure that the UK remains on track to be the first country in Europe to put tobacco in plain packs by launching the consultation no later than spring 2012, followed by legislation for implementation by the end of this parliament," chief executive Deborah Arnott said.

Plans had originally envisaged a consultation taking place at the end of next year.