Forest: Proposals may not be effective
Monday, 02 Jun 2008 13:42
Pro-smoking group Forest has voiced its doubts that proposals made by the government to reduce the number of young smokers will be effective.
As part of its consultation strategy the Department of Health outlined potential initiatives including selling cigarettes in a minimum pack of 20; banning tobacco vending machines; and banning the display of tobacco products in shops.
On the minimum pack of 20 - designed to target young people who can generally only afford packs of ten - Forest says people will continue to buy cigarettes but they will buy the larger pack and will almost certainly consume its contents in less time than they would had they been able to buy, at different times, two packets of ten.
Forest says it "strongly objects" to a ban on cigarette vending machines, saying it would seriously inconvenience some adult smokers who rely on vending machines when other retail outlets are closed or too far away.
Instead it proposes alternatives including machines that can only be operated using credit cards or tokens instead of cash.
And on the issue of a ban in displaying tobacco products in shops Forest says there is little or no evidence it will have any effect on the rates of youth or adult smoking.
The group claims that in Iceland, where point of sale display has been banned for ten years, the number of children who smoke has barely changed.