According to a new report published in Medical Xpress, an international expert has found that the attractive design on cigarette packs compared to plain packaging does not reduce the illegal tobacco production less.
Attractive packaging for cigarettes is unlikely to decrease the number of illegal tobacco production as counterfeit producers find it easy to forge any design on the pack easily and quickly.
"The tobacco industry claims that plain packs would be easier to counterfeit," said Luk Joossens, report author and international expert on illicit tobacco trade in a report from Medical Xpress. "The reality is that all packs are easy to counterfeit and that counterfeiters are able to provide top quality packaging at low prices in a short time. Plain packaging will not make any difference to the counterfeit business."
A report by Luk Joossens who has advised the World Bank, the European Commission and World Health Organization on illicit tobacco trade is considering the options based on public consultation. It shows manufacturing a pack of 20 counterfeit is very cheap and manufacturing plain packages for cigarettes will not make much of a difference.
Australia is the first country to have successfully put all tobacco products in standardized packs and other countries seem to adapt the same very soon. The report also shows 9 percent of the cigarettes smoked in the UK have not paid taxes. Although it has reduced 21 percent since 2000 - 2001 but considering health factors as a serious concern it has to fall further, says a report in Medical Xpress.
"The tobacco industry has a track record of facilitating smuggling and often says policies that cut smoking will increase smuggling, even though smuggling has been falling for a decade. Claims that plain packaging will cause a rush of illegal tobacco into the UK are ridiculous," Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said in a report by Medical Xpress.
"The tobacco industry is making these claims while fighting the idea of plain packs - the new policy it most fears. Putting all tobacco products in standardized packs will reduce their appeal to children and help lead to fewer young people becoming addicted to cigarettes."
King promoting the agenda of standardizing the packages, said: "The tobacco industry has no credibility and should remain at arm's length from any health initiatives that are designed to reduce smoking rates. We urge the UK government to respond to the consultation as soon as possible. The answer is plain - standardized packaging won't stop everyone from smoking but it will give millions of young people one less reason to start."
