Happy
Thursday everyone!
Tomorrow is
the FINAL day of the campaign I have been helping with since January. Seven and
a half months worth of hard work have gone into this project, not just from me,
but from everyone involved. We campaigned, we’ve collected signatures, we’ve
lobbied parliament, we’ve written letters, we’ve spoken to thousands of people
and we’ve researched information.
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.
Thousands
and thousands of smokers die every year. The tobacco companies need to replace
these smokers with new ones to keep making a profit. This means they need to
attract young people into smoking. Packaging helps with that. It is important
to note that Imperial Tobacco refuse to agree to the SCIENTIFCALLY PROVEN link
between smoking tobacco and lung cancer. This to me proves that they do not
care about their customers. It shows they are more interested in their profits
then they are the health of the people buying them. This also shows that they
can be ecomomic with the truth, making their evidence untrustworthy in my
opinion.
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.
Another argument
of the tobacco companies is that it will lead to a “nanny state” well to
paraphrase my fellow ambassador David Collins – if being part of a nanny state
means I will help save peoples lives then I’m all for it. I do believe people
should live their lives as they want (unless it is an illegal lifestyle that is)
but I do think tobacco companies manipulate people into a certain way of
thinking and I believe this should be stopped. That isn’t being a nanny – that is
looking out for people. Cancer is a horrible illness and people should be
encouraged to be aware of the lifestyle choices that can increase their risk of
a diagnosis.
I think I
have bored people silly with information about this campaign so I will end this
post here. Please do have a think about plain packaging and please do sign the
petition at the side of the page if you do want to help us persuade the government
to introduce it. It WILL be beneficial to public health and it WILL save
thousands of young people from taking up a habit that could end up killing
them.
The Answer
is Plain.
Thank you
