One year on from the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco in the UK, new research commissioned by Japan Tobacco International and conducted by independent polling company Kantar TNS, revealed that the majority of the UK public are not supportive of the policy, JTI said Monday.

A survey of 2,464 adults living in Great Britain in April found that majority were concerned that their government has imported a “failed policy” from Australia, without considering its potential negative effects.



Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 65 percent, said the plain packaging would not achieve its primary objective of reducing smoking rates while another 65 percent said that it was a poor use of government resources. Some 58 percent believed plain packaging would lead to an increase in the number of illegal cigarettes sold in the UK.

Starting May last year, UK’s plain packaging rule obliges tobacco makers to sell cigarettes in standardized green packaging bearing graphic warnings of the dangers of smoking in the UK aimed to curb smoking.

Every pack with at least 20 cigarettes must have health warnings covering 65 percent of the front and back, according to the rules, with the brand name restricted to a standard size, font and color.

Responding to the survey, 69 percent of the UK citizens said they should reject the policy or wait for more evidence of its effectiveness from Australia.

One year in, the latest data shows no impact on tobacco sales or smoking rates in the UK and counterfeit plain packs were discovered on the high street as early as one month after the implementation of plain packaging, JTI said.

Analysis conducted by JTI on UK counterfeit samples shows that tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels far exceed those allowed in the country. But this is only the tip of the iceberg: In some cases, counterfeits have been found to contain heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and lead , along with other toxic contaminants: asbestos, mold, dust, dead flies, rat droppings -- and even human excrement.

“Plain packaging is failing in the UK, as it has in Australia and France, and as we always warned that it would,” states Jonathan Duce, head of external communications at JTI’s global headquarters in Geneva.

“Rather than wait for results to emerge from Australia -- as originally committed to by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt -- the government pushed through a policy without waiting for hard evidence or research into the consequences. Plain packaging should never have been introduced in the UK, and other governments considering the measure should think twice before importing this failed experiment.” 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)