Boost to Plain Tobacco Packaging

Packaging:

Colorful packaging ,stylist design and fashionable cartoons are the critical marketing tools on the packets of tobacco. Such kind of packaging attract new customer even-non smoker and youth.
Good representation on tobacco packets increase sales, promote branding, mislead customer about the health hazardous of tobacco.
The plain packaging is one of method to curb menace of tobacco.

What is Plain Packaging?

The plain packaging standardize the appearance of tobacco products.it is generic, neutral or homogeneous packaging. This requires that packets must have uniform plain color and texture along with standard shape, size and material of packets. This prohibits use of logos, colours, brand image or promotional information inside on attached to the packaging of products.
The only purpose of this idea is to increasing the effectiveness of health warnings and reduce attractiveness of tobacco products.it will reduce consumer who attracted by advertisement and design.

Information on packets:

The packets will contain only brand name,product name, quantity of product, contact details may be in standard form. Mandatory information like Health warning and Tax stamp.

Countries following Plain Packaging:

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control(FCTC) guidelines published in 2012.Following which Australia in 2012 became first country in world to adopt Pain Packaging.
In 2016 United Kingdom and France implemented it, Norway and Ireland both adopted in 2017and at last in 2018 New Zealand and Hungry. In Asia Thailand will become first country and in Arab region Saudi Arabia, both will implement in 2019. Uruguay will implement in 2019 and Slovania in 2020. The 14 other countries considering to adopt it in future.

Challenges and WTO Ruling:

Understandably, the tobaccoindustry was oppose to Australia plain packaging adoption.
The WTO ruling in june 2018 favoring plain packaging and struck down against tobacco industry.
The WTO panel, while rejecting the notion that Australia had unjustifiably infringed tobacco trademarks and violated intellectual property rights. It is said that the plain packaging law led to “Improving public health by reducing use of and exposure to tobacco products”.

More Pictorial warning led more Smoking Quitter:

In April 2016, India increased the size of graphic pictorial warning, by 85% on packaging of tobacco product both side front and back.
According the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016-2017,when compared with the survey results of 2009-2010, it said that the percentage of user in India who thought of quitting because of such warning labels sharply to 62%-cigarette, 54%-bidi, and 46%-smokeless tobacco users.
In India annually tobacco cause one million deaths
Likewise, tobacco use among those aged 15-24 years showed a six-percentage point reduction (18.4% in 2009-10 to 12.4% in 2016-17). The number of tobacco users dropped by eight million.

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Benefits of Plain Packaging:

The base includes a large body of peer reviewed studies that have been the subject of three systematic reviews (two in the United Kingdom and one in Ireland). This evidence supports the conclusion that plain packaging:

Standardize the Packaging
Reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products
Restricts use of the pack as a form of advertising and promotion
Limits misleading packaging, and
Increases the effectiveness of health warnings.
Plain packaging along with other measures led to 0.55 percentage point reduction in smoking prevalence in Australia, translating into at least 1,18,000 fewer smokers

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Conclusion: Plain packaging can became one of tool to curb smoking- more no of people can quit,young generation will not attract. Plain packaging can depict more health hazardous on packing. Further with higher taxes on tobacco product and authorized vendor to sell it. Promoting no smoking zone and stringent punishment who flaunt it.