The Ulster Unionist Party’s Health Spokesperson, Roy Beggs, has called on Edwin Poots to make a commitment on the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products. The East Antrim MLA spoke out after renewed criticism was levelled against Prime Minister David Cameron on his decision to drop similar proposals for England earlier this year.

Roy Beggs said;

“In Northern Ireland approximately 1 in 4 people smoke; that’s 340,000 men, women and children.  Whilst the habit kills well over 2,000 people in Northern Ireland every year and one in two smokers will ultimately die early because of it, consistent surveys and research reveals that many people would like to stop.

Despite having a target of reducing the harm from smoking, the proportion of those smoking in NI has actually been increasing.   Locally, each year, over 2000 young people are being enticed by sophisticated advertising to take up this incredibly addictive habit.  Therefore the case for the introduction of plain packaging is clear; it could dissuade some young potential smokers from taking up the habit in the first place.  Health warning images could also further discourage new smokers from taking up the habit. 

For those people who originally doubted whether plain packaging would even work, research which has just been published in the British Medical Journal that reviewed the first three months of the impact plain packaging in Australia has revealed that it makes smokers think that their cigarettes have deteriorated in quality and it leaves them less satisfied.

Following the precedent which was set in Australia, it was recently announced that the Republic of Ireland will be the first country in Europe to require cigarettes to be sold in plain packs. Northern Ireland must now proceed with our own proposals to do likewise.

We must not allow the genuine attempt to introduce plain packaging in Northern Ireland to become mired in the same type of chaotic and perturbing headlines about links between Government and lobbyists which many fear played a definitive role in blocking the same proposals in England.

Our Health Minister has previously supported the proposals when he stated that he ‘fully supported the concept of plain packaging’ and that it had the potential to ‘further help prevent young people from starting to smoke and support current smokers to quit’. He must follow up his words with actions. We can no longer allow procrastination or excuses about the consultation exercise to delay the introduction of what many people also believe would be a very significant step towards tackling the problem of underage smoking.”