From: Nottingham Post
INTRODUCING plain packaging on cigarette boxes would make it easier for counterfeit cigarettes to flood the market, it is claimed.
The Government is considering standardising tobacco packs to make them less appealing to children and other people considering smoking.
But small businesses in Notts say that plain packaging would make it even easier for people to make copies of legal cigarettes.
Seema Chadda, an assistant at her father’s store, Gifto Mini Market, in Arnold, said: “I have noticed a slight drop in sales of cigarettes over the last couple of months.
“If people are getting hold of illegal cigarettes, then why do they need to go to a shop?
“I do not really see why you need plain packaging. People could get away with more counterfeit goods. In my opinion it will affect the business.”
Ms Chadda added that she was particularly worried about the health and safety risks of cheap counterfeit cigarettes.
According to a poster by Notts County Council, an estimated 1,000 15-year-olds in Notts are habitual smokers, and most know where to get hold of cheap cigarettes.
The 27-year-old said: “If people can get fake cigarettes, children or teenagers may get hold of them. Are they even safe? And if they are cheap, people are going to buy them.
“It is scary and it is a real health issue; you don’t even know what is in them.”
