UK to be first EU member state to implement plain tobacco packaging

Members of the House of Lords have agreed the regulations after considering the benefits of introducing plain packaging, primarily reducing the appeal and attractiveness of tobacco packs, and improving the visibility of health warnings on packets.

A motion was proposed by Lord Naseby, who has more than three decades of experience in marketing, sales, market research and consumer attitude research, to block the regulations, expressing concern about the effectiveness of standardized packaging, the timescales to introduce them, and whether they could lead to difficulty differentiating between legal and illegal packs.

This motion was debated and withdrawn, leading to the regulations being agreed. The full transcript of the debate can be read here.

Plain tobacco packaging was first introduced in Australia, and while it remains the only country to have implemented such regulations, other countries around the world are moving to adopt a similar stance, including Ireland, France, Norway, New Zealand and Turkey, as they look to increase the rate of smoking cessation and decrease the number of those starting to smoke in the first place.

The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 relate to the retail packaging of hand rolling tobacco, and the retail packaging and appearance of cigarettes. They require the use of specified standard colors for all external and internal packaging of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco, and would only permit specified text, such as the brand and variant name, in a standard typeface. They also permit only specified shapes or type of packets, and set a minimum amount of tobacco or cigarettes in each individual packet.

The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 will not affect other labeling requirements for tobacco products, such as health warnings and fiscal marks, or elements such as authentication markings and security features.

Earl Howe, the minister who is responsible for quality at the Department of Health, tabled the motion to agree the regulations in the House of Lords, and said: ‘We have looked carefully at the evidence and it shows that introducing standardized packaging is highly likely to bring important public health benefits, primarily by reducing the appeal and attractiveness of tobacco packs, especially to children and young people, and improving the salience of health warnings on packets.

‘Packaging and branding are promotional tools used to attract consumers. Since the ban on advertising tobacco products in the UK, packaging has become a key avenue for the promotion of tobacco, and it is notable that one tobacco company referred to tobacco packaging as its “mobile billboard”.’

‘The introduction of standardized packaging is likely to deliver important public health benefits and, as part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy, will bring us a step closer to a smoke-free generation,’ he added.

The agreement on the regulations by members of the House of Lords follows an earlier vote which saw them approved by MPs by 367 to 113 in a vote in the House of Commons. The regulations are expected to come into effect next year, 12 months before something similar is implemented in Ireland.