Plain Cigarette Box Packages

Ger Roe

Apparently there is a big hoo haw about to be made later today of an intention to enforce plain white cigarette box covers. It is intended to discourage young people from being tempted by slick branding designs.

Are they also going to ban the far more eye-catching cigarette box covers that will inevitably replace them? Do a web search and see the vast range of designs currently available.

Is this plan just hype and an attempt to be seen to be doing something - even something as easily subverted as buying an outer cover with a superhero character design on it?

What do you think will do more harm - standard manufacturer branding, or a free for all on what designs can be put on an outer box cover?

robinph

The cigarettes have all been hidden behind sliding doors in shops in the UK for a good while now so fancy packaging wouldn't make a whole lot of difference anyway. But caught a glimpse of what the packets all look like now the other day, and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between one brand an another. Does make it more difficult for the shop assistant to pick out what the customer is asking for I guess.

https://d1o50x50snmhul.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dn23922-1_800.jpg

That lot needs to be hidden behind a screen so you can't see it.

Doctor Nick

To be perfectly honest I think the current packaging with the horrible images (saw one recently of somebody missing a toe, presumably as a result of gangrene due to clogged arteries or something) would be far more a deterrent than plain packaging. Although people can just buy covers for those packs too. Banning cigarettes entirely is the only way to stop smoking IMO. I say that as a smoker.

gramar

Plain packaging is a lot better than than the horrible pictures they but on boxes now.
I've yet to see a car with the image of a mangled crash victim across the bonnet.

BrokenArrows

Doctor Nick wrote: »

To be perfectly honest I think the current packaging with the horrible images (saw one recently of somebody missing a toe, presumably as a result of gangrene due to clogged arteries or something) would be far more a deterrent than plain packaging. Although people can just buy covers for those packs too. Banning cigarettes entirely is the only way to stop smoking IMO. I say that as a smoker.

The government keep pussy footing around it. Warnings, packaging, more tax, advertisements etc.

If they want people to stop smoking then just make the things illegal and be done with it. Give people plenty of notice.
2021 - Cigarettes are no longer allowed to be sold in any shop or imported by businesses, individuals can still bring in cigarettes from abroad under current rules.
2023 - It is illegal to smoke.

The question is what should the punishment be for being caught smoking. Maybe just a basic fine of €50 would do as you cant really criminalize it. But it would have to be criminal for people found importing/selling.

hawkwing

I can see drinking going the same way as there are more and more regulations.Probably plain silver cans of everything which are hidden away in a room in the supermarkets that you need ID to get into eventually:rolleyes:

robinph

BrokenArrows wrote: »

The government keep pussy footing around it. Warnings, packaging, more tax, advertisements etc.

If they want people to stop smoking then just make the things illegal and be done with it. Give people plenty of notice.
2021 - Cigarettes are no longer allowed to be sold in any shop or imported by businesses, individuals can still bring in cigarettes from abroad under current rules.
2023 - It is illegal to smoke.

The question is what should the punishment be for being caught smoking. Maybe just a basic fine of €50 would do as you cant really criminalize it. But it would have to be criminal for people found importing/selling.

Making it illegal it won't help, as you'll then get even more dangerous fakes instead.

Just continue to make them more difficult and less appealing to get hold of, but it needs to go out of fashion voluntarily. Forcing people to stop by ciminalising it will not work.

Your Face

Banning things is not the answer.

donegal.

robinph wrote: »

That lot needs to be hidden behind a screen so you can't see it.

is that not the case already?

can't they just increase the age restrictions by a year , every year?

Wossack

dunno why they dont just go full on nanny state, and coat the butts with that 'stop biting your nails' stuff

Riesen_Meal

donegal. wrote: »

can't they just increase the age restrictions by a year , every year?

Imagine a 16 year old working his part time job in Spar asking a 75 year old man for ID to buy 20 smokes...

donegal.

Fieldog wrote: »

Imagine a 16 year old working his part time job in Spar asking a 75 year old man for ID to buy 20 smokes...

why not?

Boom_Bap

Denis Leary nailed this years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLxvapD6XpM

Zaph

hawkwing wrote: »

I can see drinking going the same way as there are more and more regulations.Probably plain silver cans of everything which are hidden away in a room in the supermarkets that you need ID to get into eventually:rolleyes:

They're already talking about hiding alcohol from general view

ArchXStanton

Isn't the plain covers something to do with the new EU Tobacco directive? Ya know the one that lumps vaping in with tobacco products and subject to a lot of silly regulations...Pure North Korean stuff

Cina

BrokenArrows wrote: »

The government keep pussy footing around it. Warnings, packaging, more tax, advertisements etc.

If they want people to stop smoking then just make the things illegal and be done with it. Give people plenty of notice.
2021 - Cigarettes are no longer allowed to be sold in any shop or imported by businesses, individuals can still bring in cigarettes from abroad under current rules.
2023 - It is illegal to smoke.

The question is what should the punishment be for being caught smoking. Maybe just a basic fine of €50 would do as you cant really criminalize it. But it would have to be criminal for people found importing/selling.

Making a drug that 25% of our population use illegal would be absolutely disastrous. No chance.

Dravokivich

Plain front pages on newspapers and magazines please.

Ger Roe

Bringing it back to the specific topic -

Plain packets - are they an ineffective and a waste of the time, money and resources that have gone into coming up with this policy so far, and of the airtime that will now be given to the launch of the scheme?

The complete ban aspect will never be considered as an option so long as ineffective crackpot proposals like this are rolled out as evidence of government being seen to tackle what they say is probably their greatest public health problem. They poke about at the edge of the problem, but don't ever target it directly and effectively - is it a tax revenue issue where it doesn't really matter what health damage you do to yourself, as long as you pay us while you are doing it? I view it with the same suspicion as the electricity providers encouraging us to use less electricity, so that they can then charge us more for using less and make bigger profits on their reduced operating costs.

IMHO some junior health minister is about to get their face and voice all over the media for a proposal that is a complete waste of time and the cost of research and studies that has come up with it.