- March 15,2023
Can Plain cigarette packaging save lives
Smoking currently costs the Irish taxpayer between €1 and €2 billion a year to provide health services to smokers. But behind the financial cost is the human cost, with an estimated 5,500 people a year dying from smoking-related diseases and many more suffering from conditions caused by smoking.
As one of his last acts as Health Minister, Dr James Reilly introduced the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill, which will introduce standardised, plain cigarette packaging as part of his goal to make Ireland a smoke free country by 2025. A rather admirable albeit naïve objective. Although this lofty goal may not be reached, any measure to reduce the level of smoking in Ireland is most welcome.
Plain cigarette packaging has thus far only been introduced in one country worldwide, Australia, where cigarettes are now sold in plain, olive-coloured packaging, in same-size boxes with uniform typeface and large health warnings. Due to the limited application of plain packaging there is little concrete evidence to attest its efficacy.
Branding matters
However, there have been over two dozen peer-reviewed studies which suggest that branding encourages youth uptake of smoking. Experiments were also conducted with plain cigarette packaging and they yielded some interesting findings. Not only did smokers deem the packaging less attractive but they judged the taste to be inferior even though it was the same quality tobacco. Plain packaging also increased negative perceptions about smoking. Many resorted to hiding the packet and reduced their consumption while in public.
