The Scottish Government's commitment to introducing plain, standardised packs for tobacco has been welcomed by health groups, children's charities and an editorial in The Herald.
This move represents an important step in making smoking less attractive to children. Not surprisingly, it has the big tobacco companies rattled.
Experience tells us that we can now look forward to a series of reports, paid for by tobacco companies, predicting economic and social ruin if they are not allowed to promote their addictive products in designed, branded packs.
The latest effort, ("Tobacco legislation could put 3000 jobs at risk", The Herald, August 19), is a case in point.
Should we really believe a study, paid for by tobacco company Philip Morris, which claims that the GDP of Northern Ireland will reduce by 0.4 to 0.7% if our children are protected in this way?
When Australia introduced plain, standard packs last year the tobacco companies predicted chaos in shops, economic ruin for the Government and a field day for smugglers.
Ten months down the line none of this has come to pass.
We should ask ourselves: if the packs aren't attracting new smokers - then why are these tobacco giants spending so much money protecting them?
Jackie Brock,
Chief Executive, Children in Scotland;
Marjory Burns,
Director, British Heart Foundation Scotland;
James Cant,
Head of British Lung Foundation Scotland and Northern Ireland;
Alison Cox,
Tobacco Control Lead, Cancer Research UK;
Sheila Duffy,
Chief Executive, ASH Scotland;
Dr Charles Sanders,
Deputy Chairman, British Medical Association Scotland,
14 Queen Street,
Edinburgh.
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