Plain cigarette packs do cut smoking

Plain packaging for cigarettes could be the ' game changer' in seeing long- term reductions in smoking among young people, health officials have said.

Public Health England (PHE) said that the evidence for the benefits of introducing standardised packing for cigarettes and other tobacco products is now 'irrefutable'.

In Australia, where the measure was introduced in December 2012 , there has been the fastest decline in smoking rates for over 20 years, according to PHE - an arm's length body of the Department of Health.

Standardised packaging increases the effect of health warnings on cigarette boxes and helps to de- normalise smoking, it said.

Responding to a consultation on the proposed measure, PHE said: ' As a powerful addition to the existing levers at our disposal, we believe standardised packaging could be the game changer.

' The evidence is clear that standardised packaging increases the effectiveness of health warnings and reduces the appeal of ciga- rette packaging to young people and adults. It removes a powerful marketing tool and the ability to influence perceptions about the relative risk between cigarette brands.

'Standardised

packaging influences behaviour, encouraging smokers to reduce their smoking and to quit.

' As part of a comprehensive programme of tobacco control, standardised packaging makes a powerful con- tribution to the de- normalisation of smoking as a socially acceptable behaviour. The potential benefits to public health should not be underestimated.