Our Supporters 
Hands Off Our Packs is supported by adults from all walks of life. They include smokers and non-smokers who are sick of being patronised by the tobacco control industry.
The Issues
There is no evidence that plain packaging will have any impact on youth smoking rates or the number of adults who smoke. There are, however, several very good reasons why this pointless idea should be rejected. Read on:
Nothing plain about plain packaging
The term ‘plain packaging’ is deliberately misleading. The tobacco control industry doesn't want plain packs at all. It wants cigarettes sold in dull, uniformly coloured packets with even larger and more grotesque graphic health warnings on both sides of the packet.
Legislation should be based on evidence
There is no evidence that 'plain' (or standard) packaging will have a positive impact on public health. That is because only one country – Australia – has decided to introduce plain packaging and the legislation won't be enforced until December 2012. All the claims about the impact on youth smoking rates are based on one thing only – speculation.
Tackle illicit trade not legitimate businesses
According to Ruth Orchard, director general of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, "Plain packaging represents an invitation to counterfeiting. If put into practice for the tobacco industry, this could impact on all sectors where counterfeiting is rife. It creates a trading environment where packaging is no longer distinctive and products become easy to replicate illegally."
Please, no more nanny state diktats
We know that actions have consequences and in a liberal society we should be encouraged to take responsibility for our lifestyle. We don't need government shouting at us hysterically every time we do something that the state disapproves of. Yet that is exactly what excessive health warnings and graphic images on cigarette packs are doing. Plain packaging takes the nanny state mentality of many public health campaigners to a new and disturbing level.
Stop, thief!
According to the British Brands Group, removing branding will essentially requisition the intellectual property rights of legitimate companies. Consumers too will lose out because branding helps us "to understand differences between products, distinguish between products almost instantly, and to buy with total confidence".
What's the point?
Britain is facing a precarious financial future. Many people are experiencing serious hardship yet the tobacco control industry wants government to devote precious parliamentary time and money debating and introducing laws and regulations that would see the compulsory removal of all brand logos from cigarette packs and require all packaging to be printed in a single dull colour with even larger graphic health warnings.
Our Supporters
In 2012 the Government held a 16-week public consultation on whether the UK should adopt standardised (or 'plain') packaging for tobacco products. The consultation received over 665,000 responses, with a substantial majority (427,888) opposed to standard packs. In 2014 the Government conducted a further six-week consultation on the regulations for plain packaging. Together the Prime Minister and the Department of Health received a further 150,000 responses (via the Hands Off Our Packs campaign) opposing plain packs. In September the Government informed the EU it had yet to make a decision on the issue. To inform your MP of your opposition to plain packs and request they forward your views to the relevant ministers, please visit our LAST CHANCE SALOON microsite NOW! To receive updates about our campaign please enter your details below.
