[News]: KFL&A Public Health supports plain and standardized packaging for tobacco products

Kingston - Every year on May 31, the World Health Organization and partners around the world celebrate World No Tobacco Day.  Established in 1988, the day is intended to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. KFL&A Public Health is focussing this year’s World No Tobacco Day on advocating for plain and standardized packaging. 

Many people are not aware of how cigarette packages are used as mini-billboards for tobacco brands. Packaging components, from colours, to flashy embossed fonts, to unique shapes and more, are used to make products more attractive, encouraging more people to buy tobacco products.  Plain and standardized packaging stops tobacco companies from using cigarette packages as advertisements.  Plain packaging would require all tobacco product packaging to have the same appearance, including the same colours, fonts, and format, no matter what brand is inside.  Plain packages would still have health warnings on the outside of the packages, making the warnings more noticeable and effective.   Tobacco products would look less appealing, discouraging young people from starting to smoke, and would not allow tobacco companies to advertise products as being less harmful by using terms such as “smooth” or “slim”.

Australia was the first country to introduce plain and standardized packaging successfully in 2012, and other countries, including France, the UK, and Ireland, have since followed suit.  Early studies from Australia are indicating a decrease in the rate of daily smoking in Australia, indicating that plain packaging is an essential component of the strategies to reduce the impact of tobacco on the long-term health of Ontarians. 

The hashtags #makeitplain, #cdnpoli, and #FTIPSP are being used on social media to support plain packaging.

If you would like to celebrate World No Tobacco Day by quitting smoking:

• call the Tobacco Information Line at KFL&A Public Health 613-549-1232 ext. 1333 or the Smokers Helpline 1-877-513-5333, or
• visit http://www.ontario.ca/page/how-quit-smoking  

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