Smokers News

A new study showed that thousands of people in the North East have signed postcards calling on MPs to vote in favor of putting cigarettes under the counter.

This is the main cause of why parliament decided to vote later this month on new measures in the Health Bill for to put tobacco out of sight in shops and restrict cigarette vending machines, hopping to cut the number of teenagers who start smoking each year.

Statistics showed that around 10,000 children aged 11-15 smoke and one in two will die from it.
Almost all people characterized smoking in this way: “Smoking is the nation’s biggest killer, costing the NHS £2.7bn a year and businesses £2.1bn a year through illness and absenteeism alone.”

But medical experts said that the Health Bill measures will only help to protect children from the millions of pounds spent on tobacco promotion that they require tempts too many to a lifetime of smoking, years of illness and an early death. And despite interests raised by the smoking industry, shopkeepers have been re-assured by new findings from Ireland, where cigarette displays were pushed of sight in July.

A new research showed that 82% of people in the North East are concerned about young people starting to smoke. Around 300,000 children nationally are considered to try their first cigarette each year. Scientists showed in their studies what they found. For example:

• Bright tobacco displays are known to attract youngsters and quitters. Removing them from sight won’t stop smokers from selecting their favorite brand. Most of smokers know exactly what they’re buying before entering a shop.
• Research showed that keeping tobacco out of sight helps to reduce teenage smoking. Teenage smoking has dropped in Iceland and some provinces in Canada after displays were conveyed. These measures would be introduced in 2011 in supermarkets and 2013 in small shops.
• Around 14% of 11 to 15 year olds who smoke say they usually buy cigarettes from vending machines, although machines make up just 1% of overall cigarette sales.

Scientists explained that anti-smoking legislations are not aimed to penalizing smokers, but for stop the children or grandchildren starting smoking as their parents did.

For example cigarette displays have got larger, brighter and more colorful since advertising was banned and these have a major impact on children and young people. This is about protecting them, not about restricting the rights of those smokers who don’t want to quit.

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