Tobacco firms face branding ban
Tobacco firms may be forced to remove all branding from packs, under government proposals that will look at how logos and colours encourage smoking.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is to launch a consultation on Monday (16 April).
In an interview with The Times today (13 April), Lansley said that attractive packaging helps recruit smokers and that branding on packs is a form of advertising.
The consultation document is expected to address how some tobacco brands are associated with being “cool” and “popular” with popular brands seen as being higher quality products.
The document will also reveal how companies use tobacco branding and logos to boost profits.
Lansley says that the consultation will also address whether introducing plain packaging could increase the sales of black market cigarettes.
The government has already introduced a raft of measures to curb smoking and reduce the number of new starters including introducing a display ban in supermarkets earlier this month. Cigarette vending machines have also been banned and the minimum age to buy tobacco products has been raised to 18.
Cigarette packs in the UK have also carried picture health warnings since 2009.
