BBC News, 22
July 2013
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| Plain packaging of cigarettes was introduced in Australia last December |
The work
comes from Australia - the first country to introduce plain packaging.
The BMJ
Open research looked at the impact of the policy on 536 smokers in the state of
Victoria.
The
findings come days after ministers were criticised for putting on hold a plan
to impose plain packs in England.
Downing
Street denied the Tories' election strategist, Lynton Crosby, had been
responsible for the delay to plain packaging.
Mr Crosby's
links with alcohol and tobacco companies have been called into question by some
MPs.
Defending
the decision to delay, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the government wanted
more time to see how the policy had worked in Australia.
The BMJ
Open study gives an early indication of precisely this.
Researchers
polled a sample of smokers during November 2012 when plain packs were already
available in the run up to the country-wide introduction of the legislation.
Almost
three out of four (72.3%) were smoking cigarettes from plain packs while the
remainder (27.7%) were still using branded packs with smaller health warnings.
Compared
with branded pack smokers, smokers using plain packs were 66% more likely to
think their cigarettes were poorer quality than a year ago and they were 70%
more likely to say they found them less satisfying.
They were
also 81% more likely to have thought about quitting at least once a day during
the previous week.
And plain
pack smokers were 51% more likely to back the plain pack policy than were brand
pack smokers.
Kate Alley,
Cancer Research UK's tobacco policy manager, said: "This new evidence from
Australia confirms what we already know, selling cigarettes in standardised
packs makes smoking less appealing and encourages smokers to quit.
"When
cigarettes aren't disguised by flashy packaging and carefully crafted branding,
smokers see them for what they are - a lethal product which kills half of its
long term users."
She said
ministers should "stop stalling" and introduce standardised packs in
the UK as soon as possible, adding that 85% of the British public wanted
government action to reduce the number of children who smoke.
Simon
Gillespie, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "These are clear-cut
findings about how existing smokers have reacted to the changes in Australia.
Westminster has absolutely no excuse for delaying legislation to introduce
standardised packaging."
A
Department of Health spokeswoman said: "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.
"This
decision is an important one and whilst we keep it under review, we'll be
continuing to implement our existing plan to reduce smoking rates through
ending the display of tobacco in all shops, running national behaviour change
campaigns to encourage smokers to quit and through supporting local authorities
to provide effective stop smoking services."
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