Prescot Teen Supports Plain Packaging

A 17-year-old from Prescot has spoken out against attractive cigarette packets, saying less glamorous packaging would deter teenagers from smoking.

Olivia Vanden Bos (left), a member of Youth Action in Merseyside, gave her opinion at an event exploring how tobacco companies market cigarettes to young people.

“I tried smoking once and chose the packet because it was shiny and fun,” she said. “If standardised packaging was introduced you would only be able to see the bad side effects like a photo of rotting teeth – it would catch your eye for the bad things.”

Tobacco Free Futures, a North West-based organisation whose mission is to tackle cigarette addiction and “Make Smoking History for Children,” ran the event to follow on from the government-commissioned Chantler Review on plain packaging.

The independent report, released on 3 April, concluded that standardised packaging would “contribute to a modest but important reduction in smoking prevalence especially in children and young adults.”

A recent YouGov survey found that 64% of the public in the North West supported the idea, with only 11% against.

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