Whilst responding to an independent review, Public Health England has indicated that there is compelling and substantial evidence of the need to introduce standardised cigarette packaging. The response was handed to the independent review on standardised cigarette packaging that was being led by Sir Cyril Chantler. The launch of the review was done after campaigners were against tobacco companies using colourful cigarette packs to target children.
According to PHE there is some strong evidence that there is need for legislation on all tobacco products in order to make smoking less attractive especially for the young people and this could also play an important role in reducing the number of smokers who may want to quit smoking.
The director of health and well being at PHE, professor Kevin Fenton said that Public Health England was convinced that standardizing the packaging of cigarettes was crucial in the effort of reducing the prevalence of smoking and in improving the health of children as well as young people.
Last July, the plans to introduce the standardisation of cigarette packaging was stopped with the independent review announcing that it wanted to assess if the rules would have any kind of impact on the number of children who smoke. Many campaigners criticized this decision with many of them raising concerns over the links David Cameron had with the tobacco industry. Lynton Crosby, Cameron’s election co-coordinator was accused of having chaired a meeting in 2012 where the executives in the tobacco industry were talking about how to block the plans by the government to have plain cigarette packaging.
Cancer Research UK carried out a campaign that filmed children describing different types of cigarette packaging with one child saying that the packaging makes you feel like you are in a wonderland of happiness.
