The Northern Echo, 10 de marzo de 2011

Welcome for tough tobacco measures

11:12am Thursday 10th March 2011

By Barry Nelson »Health Editor

HEALTH campaigners in the North-East say the new National Tobacco Plan will save lives and improve the life chances of thousands of children in the region.

The Government’s announcement of tough measures to reduce smoking – including putting tobacco products out of sight in shops – means one of the main aims of a long-running campaign by the North-East campaign group Fresh has been achieved.

For the past few years Fresh Smoke Free North East, a campaign group funded by the North-East NHS and the first of its kind in the country, has campaigned under the slogan of Let’s Make Smoking History.

After successfully reducing North-East smoking rates from the highest to the lowest in England, Fresh wanted the Government to ban the promotion of cigarettes in shops and force manufacturers to adopt plain packaging.

Yesterday, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he wanted to see the number of smokers fall faster in the next five years than they had in the past five.

“We want to do everything we can to help people to choose to stop smoking and encourage young people not to start smoking in the first place.”

As part of the plans, tobacco displays in shops will be banned and cigarettes and other products will have to be kept under the counter from next year, for large stores, and 2015 for small shops.

A consultation will also be launched on proposals to put cigarettes in plain packets.

About one in five adults in the UK smoke – a figure that has remained steady in recent years.

In the past ten years there have been bans on advertising tobacco products, smoking in public places and – from later this year – sales from vending machines.

Fresh director Ailsa Rutter said; “This is a real statement that lives are more important than the profits of a few powerful multinational companies and we welcome it.

“Smoking is an addiction that starts in childhood and costs every person, every family, every business, council, GP surgery and hospital.

This plan will save lives if it is fully implemented.”

But Tory backbencher Philip Davies said the plans were “a triumph for the nanny state” and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents said the display ban was “a betrayal of our nation of shopkeepers.”

Tomado de:

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/8901745.Welcome_for_tough_tobacco_measures/