Plain Packaging
Commercial expression, anti-smoking extremism and the risks of hyper-regulation
Christopher Snowdon
www.adamsmith.org
Plain Packaging
Commercial expression, anti-smoking extremism and the risks of hyper-regulation
Christopher Snowdon
The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any views held by the publisher or copyright owner. They are published as a contribution to public debate. Copyright © Adam Smith Research Trust 2012 All rights reserved. Published in the UK by ASI (Research) Ltd. ISBN: 1-902737-84-9 Printed in England
Contents
Executive Summary 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A short history of plain packaging Advertising? Scraping the barrel Will it work? Unintended consequences Intellectual property Who’s next? Conclusion 5 7 11 13 18 23 29 31 36
Executive summary
1. The UK government is considering the policy of ‘plain packaging’ for tobacco products. If such a law is passed, all cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco will be sold in generic packs without branding or trademarks. All packs will be the same size and colour (to be decided by the government) and the only permitted images will be large graphic warnings, such as photos of tumours and corpses. Consumers will be able to distinguish between products only by the brand name, which will appear in a small, standardised font. 2. As plain packaging has yet to be tried anywhere in the world, there is no solid evidence of its efficacy or unintended consequences. 3. Focus groups and opinion polls have repeatedly shown that the public does not believe that plain packaging will stop people smoking. Even ardent antismoking campaigners do not make such a claim. Instead, activists assert that nonsmokers take up the habit as a result of seeing “glitzy” tobacco packaging. This claim lacks plausibility and is bereft of empirical evidence. 4. One in nine cigarettes smoked around the world is counterfeit or smuggled. The illicit market...