Tobacco display ban in England

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 9 2011

Starting from 2015 all public displays of tobacco are to be banned in England said the Department of Health. This has made shopkeepers and cigarette manufacturers more than unhappy. However Health Secretary Andrew Lansley refuses to yield. It is suggested that this move will make less youngsters take up the habit.

Currently, 200,000 teenagers take up smoking every year. Treating smoking-related illnesses costs the NHS more than £50 million a week.

Among other measures like plain packaging for cigarettes and other tobacco products, bans at public places, this comes as a fresh blow to smokers and those associated with the tobacco industry. Anti-smoking groups are, needless to say, are happy with the new plan.

Civil liberties group “Big Brother Watch” said, “This is just the latest move by the Government to demonise smokers, a group of people who voluntarily choose to consume a perfectly legal product. The Government likes to talk about freedom - how about respecting the rights of smokers? Under Andrew Lansley, the ‘nanny state’ is alive and well.”