Friday 9 August 2013

More Humiliating Plain Packs Campaign Fail

I'm sure you've seen these quotes about plain packaging before, but just in case ...

Remember Smokefree Action's Myth 7?
Myth #7: It may be tobacco today but other consumer products will follow 
FACT: Tobacco is not like any other product ... Plain packs for tobacco will not therefore set a precedent for other consumer products.
And then there was ASH's Deborah Arnott being even more dismissive.
[T]he “domino theory” i.e. that once a measure has been applied to tobacco it will be applied to other products is patently false.
This must be merely a figment of our fevered imaginations then.
Plain packaging for alcohol could be the next step in tackling binge drinking, according to a marketing expert. 
Experts say plain packaging of cigarettes, which is already in place in Australia and being considered by our Government, will cut smoking rates and reduce the youth uptake of smoking. 
And now Auckland University senior marketing lecturer Dr Bodo Lang has told TV ONE's Breakfast plain packaging of alcohol could have the same affect on binge drinking.
The article even comes complete with video evidence, go have a look.

That's game, set and match for the domino theorists, I'd say.


9 comments:

RooBeeDoo said...

OT, I see Tuckshop Tom is riding to Kevin Rudd's rescue in Australia. Good job it's not New Zealand, he'll be too fat to get in.

RooBeeDoo said...

Perhaps he's charging to the rescue. I wonder if UK taxpayers will be the ones charged.

harleyrider1989 said...

http://bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2013/august/bma-helps-pave-way-for-tougher-eu-tobacco-rules

BMA helps pave way for tougher EU tobacco rules

BMA lobbying has successfully paved the way for changes to the EU tobacco products directive, including a likely future ban on menthol and slim cigarettes.

cigarette stubIt is hoped the changes will help dissuade young people from smoking.

Other proposals in the revised directive include a stipulation that health warnings on tobacco packaging should cover 75 per cent of surfaces, that packets contain a minimum of 20 cigarettes and a ban on internet tobacco sales.

The European Parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee adopted its report on the proposed revision of the directive last month. Now, the parliament will negotiate with the EU Council of Ministers to develop an agreed text by May 2014.

BMA EU policy officer Robert Delis said: ‘The outcome is very positive for the BMA as the result of our EU lobby strategy at EU level.

‘The BMA Brussels Office has been liaising on behalf of the wider BMA, with a number of MEPs, and other organisations.

‘Shortly, the official negotiations will start between the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers.’


Additives outlawed

If the directive is approved, tobacco manufacturers may only include ingredients taken from an agreed limited list of additives, while all others will be prohibited. There will be a three-year transition period for manufacturers to comply with the directive.

This provision goes beyond a European Commission proposal, which had foreseen a ban for tobacco products with a characterising flavour, but gave member states the power to manage the approval of additives within the directive’s limits.

In addition, tar and nicotine information on tobacco packaging will be removed, as existing indications have proved misleading.

In order to reduce the volume of illicit tobacco products on the market, EU member states will also need to ensure all unit packets, and the packaging in which packs are transported, are marked with an identifier.

Finally, nicotine-containing products, including electronic cigarettes, will be regulated as medicines.

The BMA backs these all these moves and has written to public health minister Anna Soubry, setting out its views.

harleyrider1989 said...

DP here is where they moved to:

BMA EU policy officer Robert Delis said: ‘The outcome is very positive
for the BMA as the result of our EU lobby strategy at EU level.

harleyrider1989 said...

They gave up on the UK move and instead are now moving it to the EU where they have their own kind in charge!

Rursus said...

SURPRISE: Australia could not deliver ONE SINGLE EVIDENCE that plain packaging for tobacco cigarettes is working!

Dick_Puddlecote said...

That's because they haven't fraudulently manufactured it yet, give them time. ;)

Rursus said...

Could'nt wait :)

Kath Gillon said...

As an inveterate smoker I object to my fags already being hidden from view and plastered in offensive pictures of throat cancer. I can't see how much my fags cost any more before I buy them, I get to the front of the mile long queues in my local supermarket to discover the prices have changed and I have to scrabble around for extra change, holding the queue up because I always try to have correct money to speed up the incredibly slow service. So now I will also have to wait 20 minutes for the girl to open the locked shutters and then scan all the plain packets to find the ones I want, to be told they are even more expensive than yesterday although they now come in a plain brown wrapper like some nasty shag mag.
The government makes a fortune out of people like me and yet they want to make me look and feel like a criminal, this is the thin end of the wedge Booze will be next mark my words, the idea is to have us all living in a sterile society with no stimulus and no fun, in hopes of killing off freethought completely.
Who on earth would want to live forever in this society, YUCK!