From: ConservartiveHome
By Stephanie Lis, Stephanie Lis is Head of Communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Last night we learned that the government plans to change the law to ensure that cigarettes are sold in plain packages. The ostensible goal of reducing the number of smokers may be well-intentioned, but in practice this will be a policy with a negligible health impact and extremely worrying repercussions for black market activity.
International evidence from Australia – the only country to introduce plain packaging so far – shows that there has been no acceleration in the decline in adult smoking, while youth smoking appears to have risen. Public health campaigners assume that people start smoking as a result of seeing logos and colour schemes. This does not bear up to scrutiny; illegal tobacco now makes up 14.3 per centof the Australian market and costs the government $1.2 billion. This is a shockingly large black market for an island continent that has no land borders.
Nearer to home, counterfeiting is already a substantial and growing issue, with imitation tobacco accounting for 65 per cent of cigarettes seized within the EU. Bear in mind there are over 200 different brands available – when there is just one standardised format, packets will become much easier to replicate. Counterfeit cigarettes often contain dangerous ingredients and can cause serious health issues, as well as significant losses to the Treasury.
