Pack it in
No more branded cigarettes
FIRST they came for the TV commercials. Then they came for the posters. And then, on March 11th, the House of Commons voted to strip cigarette packets of anything that might appeal to consumers. From 2016 packs will only carry the make of cigarette and the brand name, along with the usual health warnings and ghastly photos of suppurating tumours and grangrenous toes.
Britain is the third country in the world to pass such legislation: Ireland did so earlier this month and Australia did so in 2012. Cigarette-makers and their advocates are fuming. Why, they ask, should suppliers of a legal product be so persecuted? Moreover, they say, the reform will lead to a rise in illicit cigarette smuggling.
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