Opening statement to Joint Oireachtas Committee on standardised packaging

Opening Statement to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children Public Hearings on the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2013 by Kathleen O’Meara, Head of Advocacy and Communications, Irish Cancer Society

30 January 2014

Thank you, Chairman and members of the Committee.  

I am delighted to be here today on behalf of the Irish Cancer Society to present to you the evidence already available, which demonstrates that the plain packaging of cigarettes does, and will, work. 

Chairman and members, our vision and our ambition is nothing less than a future without cancer. That's why we fight tobacco with everything we've got. 

Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer in Ireland.  Almost one in five of all deaths is attributable to smoking. If we tackle smoking, then as a country we will have delivered the single biggest blow to cancer possible. We fully support the efforts of the Minister for Health in his ambitious target to make Ireland Tobacco Free by 2025.

It can be done, and the key is the next generation. It is possible to have a generation that doesn't start smoking. How? To successfully protect them from the tactics of the tobacco industry who need to recruit 50 new smokers a day in Ireland to replace those who quit and those who die. The answer is the plain packaging of cigarettes.

Plain packaging does four things. 

Firstly, and crucially, it reduces the appeal of tobacco to young people. Secondly, it stops smokers believing that some brands are ‘less harmful’ than others. Thirdly, it encourages current smokers to quit, and fourthly, it increases negative feelings around tobacco. 

I want to focus today on that first point – reducing the appeal of tobacco to young people. 

We wanted to show you a short video – two minutes long – in which the children of Scoil Aonghusa in Tallaght demonstrate their response to branded cigarettes and plain packs, but unfortunately that was not possible. The video is available to see on our website, and we have sent the link to all of the members so you can have a look for yourself.

The message from the video is clear – plain packs significantly reduces the appeal of cigarettes to children.

And what about young people and teenagers, who are also the target of the tobacco industry? 78% of smokers start before they are 18,    and even though the rate of those starting to smoke is falling among young people, clearly we have more to do to protect this particular group.  

The Irish Cancer Society together with our collaborators, the Irish Heart Foundation commissioned research into the impact of tobacco branding and standardised packaging on young people. It was conducted last summer. Focus group research was conducted among a group of 15 and 16 year olds, both smokers and non smokers, who were first shown branded packs.

These sleek, expertly designed, coloured packs influenced everything from the teenagers’ perception of the quality of the cigarette to the likely users of the brand and ultimately their likelihood to try them.  

They were then shown examples of standardised packaging.

These packs, with their dull colour and graphic health warnings are immediately rejected by teens.  The images showing the health effects of smoking strip away any glamour or fun attributes imbued by branded packs. 

For those teens that have tried smoking, most reported that the introduction of plain packaging would be enough to prevent them from trying cigarettes again.  For those who smoked on a daily basis, plain packaging would encourage them to give up sooner. 

The findings of our research mirrors similar research carried out in different parts of the world. Time does not allow me to name them all but I would like to refer to a study published in September 2013 by the Centre for Tobacco Control Research in the University of Stirling which sets out a comprehensive overview of 17 studies carried out between August 2011 and September across the UK, New Zealand and Australia.  

The findings of these 17 studies confirm that the plain packaging of cigarettes would reduce their appeal, enhance the effectiveness of health warnings, and ensure that smokers are not misled about the level of harm done by cigarettes.

And what about Australia, the first country to introduce plain packs, just over one year ago?

Interestingly, very soon after the introduction of plain packs, smokers began to complain about the taste of their cigarettes, convinced that they had changed. In fact they hadn’t. It was the effect of the removal of colour and branding and the impact of stark pictorial warnings which were now enhanced.

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal showed that those smoking from standardised packs:

• perceived their cigarettes to be lower in quality
• perceived their cigarettes as less satisfying than the previous year
• were more likely to have thought about quitting at least once a day
• rated quitting as a higher priority
• tended to support the policy on standardised packaging  

A more recent study by the Cancer Council of Victoria into the impact of plain packs on the behaviour of smokers in cafes showed that pack display on cafe tables declined by 15% after the introduction of plain packaging, which was mostly due to a 23% decline in the percentage of patrons who were observed smoking. 

All these studies also show that the inclusion of a Quitline phone number on packs in Australia to be essential.  The Medical Journal of Australia has recorded a massive 78% jump in the number of calls to the Quitline since plain packaging was introduced.  

On this basis, the Irish Cancer Society would strongly recommend the inclusion of a Quitline in the legislation being brought forward by the government. 

It is still too early to analyse some of the long-term effects on smokers in Australia but these early studies do confirm the findings of our own research.

Chairman and Members, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to share with you, the evidence demonstrating that plain packs work.

No one wants to see their child smoking. As legislators, you have the power to ensure that children and young people are protected from the tactics of the tobacco industry, which does target them.  We urge you to take this opportunity to protect the lives of the next generation, and to make smoking history in Ireland.

Thank you, Chairman. 

Kathleen O'Meara

Head of Advocacy and Communications

Irish Cancer Society