Councillor against tobacco pack plans

Speaking at last Monday night’s monthly meeting of Council, Mrs Wales said she could not support the policy initiative that would essentially aim to reduce the use of tobacco by such means as plain packaging.

While the recommendation to councillors from their Environmental Health officers was that they “broadly welcome” the proposals via the local authority’s response to the consultation process, Mrs Wales maintained her stance.

She told the meeting: “I cannot support the policy initiative of standardising the packaging of tobacco products.

“I must make it abundantly clear that I in no way wish to encourage smoking in any form for any age group.

“If this act goes through around 6,000 high-value jobs in the UK manufacturing and supporting business sectors employing thousands more, such as printing, design, origination, engraving, embossing and creasing will be negatively impacted.

“Plain packaging will benefit organised criminals, tobacco smugglers and counterfeiters by making tobacco products easier to counterfeit, thereby expanding the network of criminals supplying the UK market and enhancing their profits,” she said.

The Councillor went on: “Smuggling of tobacco products leads to a major loss of tax revenue to the exchequer – up to £3.1 billion, depriving the general public of revenue to fund vital public services

“From later this year supermarkets will have to have doors fitted to cigarette gantries so no product will be visible and from 2015 all shops will have to conform to the same this will mean no tobacco products will be visible in shops. Let’s wait and see if this initiative works before we blunder into another one,” she said.