Sunday 9 December 2012

Another 'Myth' That, Erm, Isn't

Back in April, I critiqued a study by the tobacco control industry designed specifically to pretend plain packaging would have no effect on transaction times in shops. The study was, of course, utter garbage.

This was in response to ASH Scotland's claim that those predicting confusion and delay were merely spreading a 'myth'.
Proper research, measuring over 5,000 transactions in a carefully controlled setting found that, if anything, plain packs reduced transaction times and selection errors and certainly didn’t increase them.
Hmm, we know what counts as "proper research" for a tobacco controller, don't we boys and girls? It's usually some computer-modelled fantasy which bears no relation - in fact, mostly is the polar opposite - to what actually happens in real life. You know, with real people.

Meanwhile, in Australia where plain packaging is now an ugly reality ...
Nonetheless [store manager Kakha Tchatchanidze] believes the whole exercise is "pointless", and staff seem to agree. The only change they have noticed is increasing customer frustration at the amount of time it takes staff to find a particular brand amid the plethora of identical boxes.
Well, duh! Only a moron couldn't have seen that coming ... eh ASH?


5 comments:

Trespassers Will said...

There must already be engineers working on a barcode scanner system, so that customers can just turn up with an empty packet, get it scanned, and an LED on a display panel will tell the shop assistant where to get the correct brand. Someone will no doubt make a lot of money out of that.Then the sales of tobacco will resume their steady pace, and ASH will come up with some fatuous excuse for demanding the removal of bar codes. At that point, customs and excise will go bloody ballistic.....

Cherie said...

Here's now plain packs effects adults - you're at a party with several other smokers, you put your smokes down somwhere, as does everyone else - whose are bloody whose!! They all look the same now, and after a few bevvies, it's not so easy reading that fine print to work out which brand is which.

Junican said...

Well, yes TS. But the whole point, according to ASH ET AL is to stop baby children from buying tobacco in shops. According to ASH ET AL, baby children often go to supermarket tobacco counters and, peering over the counter, ask for 20 thingies. Baby children cannot now do that, and so there will be a massive decline in baby children buying tobacco. It stands to reason, doesn't it?

Frank J said...

You're lucky. I've never any left after I've flashed a pack in company! All the 'non smokers' popping up with "Oh, could I just have one of those?"


Govt. smoking rates, ONS or otherwise, are a complete fantasy.

prog said...

Yes, there are loads of social/occasional 'smokers' out there. These are never mentioned by ASH because such people cannot possibly be addicted. This would contradict, or at least dilute, claims to the contrary.