The purpose of this consultation was to seek the views of interested people, businesses and organisations on a policy initiative that would require the packaging of tobacco products to be standardised, the aim being to improve public health by reducing the use of tobacco. Within the context of tobacco packaging, standardised packaging is sometimes referred to as ‘plain packaging’.
The Department of Health (England), the Chief Medical Officer’s Directorate (Scotland), the Health and Social Services Directorate General (Wales) and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland) each have responsibility for improving public health, including reducing tobacco use through the implementation of comprehensive tobacco control strategies. They all wish to explore whether further policy action should be taken on the packaging of tobacco products. The results of this consultation will contribute to the future formulation of tobacco control policies.
Comment on
Department of Health Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (the College) is pleased to respond to the Department of Health’s call for comments on the consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products.
The College supports strongly all initiatives to discourage the take up of smoking and to support smoking cessation.
As a member of the Scottish Coalition on Tobacco (SCOT), the College commends the detailed SCOT response to this consultation, which puts forward powerful and evidenced arguments that standardisation of tobacco packaging is an appropriate and proportional response to a major population harm and should be introduced across the UK.
