Morning all!!!
Tomorrow will see Australia become the first country in the world to introduce plain packaging of cigarettes.
Here are some of the latest news about this:
As most will know, we Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors have been working very hard alongside Cancer Research UK all year to try and persuade the government to introduce plain packaging in the UK.
The campaign is aimed at young people and trying to discourage them from taking up smoking in the first place. IT IS NOT AIMED AT PEOPLE WHO ALREADY SMOKE.
Please look out for plain packaging news over the next few days and it will be really interesting to see how it pans out in Austalia whilst we wait for the government's decision.
Just a few facts about plain packaging for anyone that everyone should know:
Tomorrow will see Australia become the first country in the world to introduce plain packaging of cigarettes.
Here are some of the latest news about this:
As most will know, we Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors have been working very hard alongside Cancer Research UK all year to try and persuade the government to introduce plain packaging in the UK.
The campaign is aimed at young people and trying to discourage them from taking up smoking in the first place. IT IS NOT AIMED AT PEOPLE WHO ALREADY SMOKE.
Please look out for plain packaging news over the next few days and it will be really interesting to see how it pans out in Austalia whilst we wait for the government's decision.
Just a few facts about plain packaging for anyone that everyone should know:
Thousands of people every
year are diagnosed with cancer because they have a smoking habit. Years of
research has proven very clear links between cancer and smoking. One in every
four cancer deaths in the UK is directly caused by smoking. a fifth of all
cancer cases in the UK are also directly caused by smoking. Cancer Research
research shows that smoking is the most important PREVENTABLE cause of cancer
in the world.
More then four in five
cases of Lung Cancer are caused by smoking. Lung Cancer has one of the lowest
survival rates. it is the most common cause of cancer in the UK. Most of these
cases are preventable if you give up smoking and allow your lungs to recover.
As well as Lung Cancer, smoking also increases your risk of over a dozen other cancers:
* Mouth
* Larynx (Voicebox)
* Pharynx (Upper Throat)
* Nose and Sinuses
* Oesophagus (Food Pipe)
* Liver
* Pancreas
* Stomach
* Kidney
* Bladder
* Cervix
* Bowel
* One type of Ovarian
* Some types of Leukaemia
As well as Lung Cancer, smoking also increases your risk of over a dozen other cancers:
* Mouth
* Larynx (Voicebox)
* Pharynx (Upper Throat)
* Nose and Sinuses
* Oesophagus (Food Pipe)
* Liver
* Pancreas
* Stomach
* Kidney
* Bladder
* Cervix
* Bowel
* One type of Ovarian
* Some types of Leukaemia
* There is also evidence to
suggest smoking can increase the risk of you developing Breast Cancer
There are at least 80
cancer causing substances in tobacco smoke. As you inhale the smoke these
chemicals are released into your lungs and spread about your body. According to
scientists; these chemicals can actually damage your DNA and mutate important
genes, making your cells grow and multiply until they are out of control.
I would like to make a very important point: I,
and everyone else at CRUK, fight for EVERYONE suffering from cancer and
EVERYONE who will suffer from cancer at some point in the future. No one
deserves cancer; it is a horrific disease that changes the lives of sufferers
and their loved ones. It is cruel and aggressive. It doesn't discriminate. This
campaign is not aimed at making smokers feel like pariahs. It is not aimed at
taking away your rights as a smoker. It is not aimed at making smokers lives
more difficult. It’s not aimed at making smokers feel embarrassed, ashamed,
guilty or pressurised to quit. This campaign is aimed at children and trying to
get them to not take up smoking in the first place.
Cancer Research UK
receives no government funding but has become the world’s leading charity
dedicated to fighting cancer and saving lives through research. The charity is
committed to reducing the harm caused by tobacco and has played a significant
role in securing a ban on tobacco advertising, creating smoke free workplaces,
removing cigarette vending machines and most recently changing the laws
surrounding tobacco displays in retailers. We are now working hard to secure
plain packaging and if the campaign is successful then the UK will become the
first nation in Europe to introduce plain packaging.
Research has shown
that eight out of ten smokers have started smoking by the age of nineteen. Most
of these smokers will develop an addiction that will stay with them long into
adulthood. Half of these long term smokers will die of a smoking related
illness such as cancer. That is a huge amount of people suffering from an
illness that could be prevented by not smoking in the first place.
The campaigns team at
CRUK have been very thorough in their research and have providing their
ambassadors with all the information needed. I have a list of arguments and
rebuttals against plain packaging and I will write them here for you all to
see:
“Plain Packaging will
make packs easier to forge and will increase smuggling”
Tobacco products are
already really easy to forge so covert markings are used to detect smuggled
packs. These markings will remain on the plain packs.
“Plain Packaging will
affect local shops”
Plain packaging is
aimed at stopping young people from starting smoking so sales will decline
slowly over time giving shops a chance to adjust. Plain packets will not have
any detrimental effect on shopkeepers’ ability to find the requested pack’
peer-reviewed research has suggested that plain packs will actually speed up
that process
“Cigarette prices will
fall”
If there is any
reduction in the price of cigarettes then taxes on cigarettes can
be raised to compensate
“We can’t afford to
lose tax from smokers”
Taxing of cigarettes
contributes £10 billion to the treasury every year. HOWEVER the cost of smoking
has been estimated to be £13.74 billion meaning the strain of smoking related
illnesses cost more than the tax is brings in.
No figure can be put
on the cost of human suffering caused by cancer
“Plain packaging is
illegal as it infringes on trade mark rights”
Nobody is taking
trademarks away by including plain packaging. International treaties have opt
outs where public health in concerned so this is not an illegal move at all.
The important thing to
remember about this campaign is that a lot of the campaigning has been done by
volunteers like me. We are members of the public who genuinely believe in the
work of Cancer Research UK. We are people who do this work in our spare time
for no financial gains whatsoever. You have to really believe in something to
be willing to dedicate hours and hours of your spare time to a cause,
especially when you have a busy career, a family to take care of and an
everyday life to lead. That dedication is a powerful tool. It means the work we
do is genuinely done because we believe in what we are doing. We are people who
have been affected by cancer and want to help prevent our experiences happening
to others.
The other thing to
remember is that the tobacco companies have spent a hell of a lot of money on
opposing this campaign. Why would they do that if they were not worried that
plain packaging would be a threat to their profits? Two million pounds was
spent by JTI alone. Tobacco companies are not allowed to advertise their
products anymore. Gone are the days where a Benson and Hedges advert would loom
down on you from one of those massive billboards whilst you’re stuck in
traffic. They have to rely on other means of enticing smokers. Packets are one
of them. Cigarette packets have become increasingly glitzy in the past few
years. Our campaign “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” has also proven tricky for
tobacco companies because now cigarettes are hidden away in larger retailers.
Smoking is a lifestyle choice. One that I try to
understand and respect. If you know of the dangers and choose to carry on
smoking then that is entirely your prerogative and I wish you well. I sincerely
hope you are in the very small minority that’s doe not get ill. But the fact
remains that smoking is a dangerous habit and children should be encouraged to
not take up smoking at all in the first place. The tobacco industry refers to
children and young people as “pre smokers”, a fact I find rather disgusting.
Most smokers I know would hate for their children to smoke.
If you believe plain packaging won’t put young people
off smoking then think of your time at school. Imagine your mum put an ASDA own
brand can of cola into your lunchbox instead of a Coca-Cola can, would you not
have been slightly embarrassed by it? It’s the same logic with cigarettes –
some are cooler then others. We all know how much image means when you are
young. Smoking a certain brand of cigarettes will mean something. Taking the
branding away will take that image away. No one will look cooler then anyone
else if everyone has the same packet.
A comment I hear frequently is “if you’re doing this
to tobacco, why not to alcohol?”. I have my own opinion on this. Certain types
of Alcohol, in moderation, can have some health benefits whereas there are NO benefits
to smoking. Absolutely none. It makes your hair, skin and clothes smell. It
ages your skin. It discolours your teeth and nails. It damages your insides. It
rots your teeth. It leads to a whole host of life threatening illnesses. Not to
mention the damage it will do to your bank account.
I hope this blog post has provided you with all the
information you need about plain packaging and why so many people are for such
a historic move. Obviously, I understand that not everyone feels the same about
the campaign but I hope this blog post explains my feelings on the subject.
Good luck to Australia, I sincerely hope to read that
introducing the plain packs does have an impact on the amount of young people taking
up smoking. I have one preteen sister, two teenage sisters and one teenage
brother as well as a preteen sister in law. I actively try to discourage them
from smoking by educating them on the subject and setting an example for them.
I do practice what I preach after all!!
For more information about plain packaging please do contact
Cancer Research UK www.cancerresearchuk.org
xxx
