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Health warning labels and plain packaging will not force smokers to quit.

02/23/15

The British government announced about their plans to accelerate the logo banning bill on cigarette packages. If the document will be adopted, tobacco companies will be forced to sell their products in identical brown packs.

Such action, according to British authorities will reduce the demand for cigarettes and will make them less attractive to younger buyers. For several decades in the UK take place debates on how far the government can go in matters of smoking regulation. For many years cigarette advertising is banned on television and press.

In addition, in the United Kingdom are supported free anti-smoking programs for people who have decided to get rid of this bad habit. But smoking opponents are not ready to stop here, the next step - the adoption in England of the same law, as in Australia, of banning original branding on cigarette packs, despite protests of the tobacco companies.

One of the tobacco manufacturers - Philip Morris Inc is trying to challenge the decision of the Australian authorities in the court. The company has already promised to sue the UK if here will be adopted new anti-smoking laws and plain packaging.

Supporters of strict measures point to the research that proves the decreased interest for smoking. They also argue that the number of smuggling cigarettes on the Australian black market wasn't increased after the introduction of the law, contrary to the tobacco industry predictions. However, other researches conducted by KPMG commissioned by tobacco companies, recorded an increase of illegal and smuggled cigarettes sales. Because of this, tobacco companies suffer from reduced revenues and the amount of paid taxes.

Australia currently has the highest cigarette prices - the price for one cigarette pack can exceed $ 16.

In all countries the authorities are faced with a dilemma: to try forcibly protect the citizens health, or to give them the legal right to make their own decisions.

Many countries have stopped at "compromise solution". In the US, cigarette packs have just a simple warning about the dangers that causes smoking to human health.

Meanwhile already appeared first evidences that health warning labels (HWLs) with plain packaging has not justified itself.

According to a studies made in 2014 and Published Online First 19 February 2015 showed that warning labels and plain cigarette packaging almost have no effect on the number of smokers in the country.

Despite the fact that smokers also thought more about the harms of smoking and avoided the HWLs more after the policy change but frequency of forgoing cigarettes did not change.

Yes, smokers are more aware of smoking danger, may be smoke less, but nevertheless the number of smokers in the country remained almost unchanged.

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