Standardised cigarette packaging could reduce smokers

A group of experts behind the Cochrane review have concluded that plan cigarette packaging could lead to 300,000 fewer smokers in the UK over the next 12 months.

The news comes as new legislation directing that all cigarette packs must feature health warnings and have a standard colour, shape and font, is set to some into effect in May. The findings are further consolidated by figures from the australian government, which showed a similar drop in smoking prevalence following the introduction of plain packaging there in 2012.

The review examined evidence from 51 studies, involving 800,000 people, on the impact of standardised packaging on smokers' attitudes and behaviour.

The team estimated that the number of people who smoked in the UK could go down by 0.5 per cent by May 2018, although current evidence was still limited.

Statistics show that 17 per cent of the UK adult population are smokers. However, the review authors postulated that there could be a six per cent increase in people trying to give up smoking and an increase in calls to quit smoking helplines.

Professor Ann Mc Neill, from King’s College London and lead author of this Cochrane review, and deputy director of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, commented: “Evaluating the impact of standardised packaging on smoking behaviour is difficult to do but the evidence available to us, whilst limited at this time, indicates that standardised packaging may reduce smoking prevalence.”

She added: “It would appear that the impact of standardised packaging may be affected by the detail of the regulations such as whether they ban descriptors, such as ‘smooth’ or ‘gold’ and control the shape of the tobacco pack.”

However, Giles Roca, director general of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association argued: "This report destroys the rationale for the introduction of plain packaging by finding no evidence that it actually acts a deterrent to young people in taking up smoking - this was at the core of the government's and health campaigners' argument for its introduction."