UKC

The fact that the cigarette firms are so against it they went to court to stop it, and have now ( allegedly) successfully lobbied the Government , to ' wait from the evidence from Australia' ?
(That is, push it not the long grass, never to be seen again .)

If it was not going to work, why bother to object, think of the money they would all save on expensive packaging , with absolutely NO impact on sales!

Sounds like something that would be in favour of, unless......
.It does work.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-13/britain-delays-plans-to-introduce-pla...

In reply to Jim C:

Instead of changing the packaging, how about changing the colour of the cigarettes themselves?
Replace the non-descript white with bright pink and add a logo on the cigarette itself of something like "I'm Paying to Kill Myself" or "Cancer - What a Lovely Way To Die".

In reply to Jim C and MJ:

Out of interest, do you think there are any smokers out there who are unaware of the risks?

BTW, tobacco packaging in Australia has been anything but plain for the last six months of so since the law change, but is a glorious technicolour of ghastly photos like those textbooks that first year medical students love to show their mates.

I'd be interested to see the actual data, but as far as I can tell the only change in smoking habits I have seen is that people now have a pouch or wallet to keep their nicotine in.

BTW, I'm not a smoker (not for over ten years anyway) and have no dog in this race. beyond being in favour of less smoking. I certainly don't approve of marketing like Joe Camel or the Marlborough Man which is clearly aimed at teenagers. I just don't think most smokers are influenced by packaging.

In reply to Captain Fastrousers:

Speaking for myself, I can remember well how much I thought B&H (!!) were cool because of those great '70s ads, ditto JPS (that F1 car!), the fab Camel packs, Malboro's cancer cowboy, etc etc. Something has to to keep you doing something that initially makes you feel so sick!

In reply to Jim C:
I wonder if the last project will be deemed a success? That being the tobacoo counter in shops over a certain size having to have blinds of the products.

In reply to Jim C:

Can't say i really notice it much because I don't smoke but there hasn't been much fuss by smokers about it.

Seems a bit of a cop out to say they are "not 100% sure about the merits". Are you ever going to be that certain about anything?

I think it is mainly aimed at making it less attractive to teenagers and other "new" smokers, isn't it?

I suspect the companies worries are that it'll drive down price, as much a fewer sale? If there's nothing to chose between brands visually, and your mates can't tell which brand you've bought, then many will just buy whichever is cheapest?

In reply to Carolyn: Yes, its all about branding. Although I dare say branding isn't the issue it once was as fags cost so much these days, everyday fags such as embassay number 1, B&H etc have all fallen out of favour anyway and 90% <guesstimate> of smokers buy one of the cheap brands or rolling baccy. Cheap meaning cheap-er such as richmond, windsor blue, L&B. Oh aye, I'm a fully committed smoker at the moment and know my brands
As far as I'm aware the ban will cover prepacked cigs and tobacco, smoking related accessories such as tins, lighters, papers, filters etc wont be covered and can still be sold with branding openly!
The mrs sells cigs and figures come from her while we were chatting so not conclusive but certainly an indication. We have to be really careful though because if this goes through eventually, what is around the corner? Branding and logos on alcohol and fast food banned?

In reply to Jim C:

Well done Mash, topical as ever

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/cigarette-packets-more-addictive-...

In reply to Jim C:
Heard an Aussie doc on Today prog saying that if they are waitng for evidence from Oz they will have to wait decades. The plain packaging is not intended/expected to deter current smokers but to make the habit less attractive to new generations of smokers