WITH their pretty jewel coloured boxes, shiny labels and enticing names, you might think they were bottles of expensive perfume. The obligatory warning labels aside, these aspirational packets of cigarettes are designed to appeal to fashion-conscious women, but research suggests that children as young as nine or 10 are also attracted to them. Andrea Crossfield, director of Tobacco Free Futures, says: “Cigarette brands are no longer seen on billboards or in magazines, but the packet acts as the mobile salesman, especially when it is taken out of the pocket 20 times a day. “This is advertising by the back door and just as children aspire to wear certain clothes or trainers, certain brands will have appeal and play a part in taking up smoking.” It’s easy to see why teenage girls might be tempted to try these attractive products.
“The brands on the market at the moment are incredibly appealing – many packs are brightly coloured pink or purple, and look stylish and slick, resembling a lipstick or perfume bottle or feeling like a mobile phone to hold because the edges are smooth,” says Andrea. “It's incredible the thought that goes into these packets, all designed to engage new customers, the vast majority of whom are under 18.” Worryingly, children identify them with their favourite celebrities. “I heard one of these packs described' as 'like something Victoria Beckham would smoke' in a recent survey we did,” says Andrea. “There's no doubt they appeal to children and we want to stop that and stop children starting to smoke – removing the brand from packets will definitely help.”
Tobacco Free Futures is now lobbying for these packs to be banned, in a bid to cut the number of children who are tempted into taking up the habit with their Plain Packs Protect campaign. It’s a campaign that’s backed by Dr Paula Grey, director of Public Health for Liverpool. She says: “Research shows that four out of five children in the North West have tried smoking before they reach the age of 14. “As well as continuing to publicise the health risks, we need to find other ways to reduce the attractiveness of smoking. “Tobacco companies are using ever more sophisticated techniques to market cigarettes to young people, including brightly coloured and super slim cigarettes alongside eye-catching and novelty packaging. “The Plain Packs Protect campaign is lobbying for plain packets to combat this and reduce the impact of smoking. Overall smoking costs the NHS in Liverpool approximately £12.7m and kills around 1,000 people each year.”
Figures published by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation say that smoking just one cigarette as a child almost doubles the chance of a teenager becoming a smoker. Andrea says: “Plain, standardised cigarette packaging won’t stop everyone from smoking, but it will give children one less reason to start. “In Liverpool, and across Merseyside, we've seen a huge wave of support with hundreds of residents signing up to plain packs so we know it's an issue that local people feel strongly about. “We hope this momentum continues to grow as we believe that people in Liverpool and across Merseyside play a significant role in turning off the tap of new young smokers.” There is some resistance to the campaign though.
Using wismec predator 228 kit may well not solution your own tobacco dependency completely. However, it can be stated that the employ of digital camera cigarettesis much a lesser amount of harmful compared to smoking tobacco cigarettes.They genuinely is usually a healthier alternative. Buy one in e cigarette store is a nice choice.
ОтветитьУдалить