A charity is calling on the Government to introduce standardised cigarette packs in the UK after a new survey suggested they are more likely to put teenagers off smoking than current front-of-pack health warnings.
Teenagers from Australia - where plain packs were introduced almost a year ago - are more likely to be deterred from taking up the habit by cigarette packaging than British youngsters, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
In December last year, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce such a measure. Cigarette packs and other tobacco products are all sold in packets with a standardised brown colour, with only the brand name and graphic warnings visible.
Plans to mimic the measure in England were put on hold in July when the Government announced the proposal would be postponed until ministers had a chance to assess its impact Down Under.
New BHF research found that only a third (36%) of UK teenagers are deterred from smoking by current cigarette packs compared to almost half (48%) of their Australian counterparts.
The survey, of 2,000 people aged 13 to 18 from the UK and 500 from Australia, found that three-quarters of British teenagers would support such a measure.
Australian cigarette packs are without logos and brand names The charity found that one in 10 UK teens made the incorrect assumption that certain cigarette brands are healthier than others, compared to just one in 20 Australian youngsters.
BHF chief executive Simon Gillespie said: "The message from our young people is loud and clear: current health warnings aren't up to the job and the UK Government must step up to the mark and introduce standardised packs.
"Smoking kills 100,000 people in the UK every year and we simply can't wait any longer for legislation.
"Australia has led the way on standardised packs, the Scottish Government has committed, and now the rest of the UK must act to protect future generations from a deadly habit."
The charity also called on politicians to rally behind new legislation which could see standardised packs introduced in the UK and other laws which could see larger graphic health warnings placed on cigarette packs across the European Union.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "The UK Government supports the proposed Europe-wide controls that would introduce a ban on flavoured cigarettes and strict rules on front-of-pack health warnings.
"We take very seriously the potential for standardised packaging to reduce smoking rates, but in light of the differing views, we have decided to wait until the emerging impact of the decision in Australia can be measured, and then we will make a decision in England."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Cigarette Pack Warnings 'Have Little Impact'
Dengan url
http://gagalcoba.blogspot.com/2013/10/cigarette-pack-warnings-have-little.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Cigarette Pack Warnings 'Have Little Impact'
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Cigarette Pack Warnings 'Have Little Impact'
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar