On Friday, the 2024-2027 anti-smoking plan was approved in a surprising way because it had the support of the PP communities, which for days had been threatening to turn their backs on a text that aims to stop tobacco consumption, prevent minors are introduced into the world of smoking and facilitate quitting for smokers, among other objectives. The plan, however, had the consensus of all the communities and has already started. The first rule that will be implemented is to eliminate the brand from tobacco packages, that is, establish generic or neutral packaging, which will only display graphic health warnings. And prohibit additives and components that confer aromas in tobacco and related products such as nicotine vapes.
This was indicated by the Minister of Health, Mónica García, at the Europa Press breakfasts, in which she announced that today this decree is being put out for public consultation. This rule will be followed, as she has pointed out, by smoke-free spaces, equating electronic cigarettes to traditional cigarettes and raising taxes to increase the price of tobacco and its products, among others.
The objective of this decree is to introduce into the applicable regulation various measures on issues, such as improvements in the labeling and packaging of tobacco products through the introduction of plain packaging. Also improvements in the proper cataloging of emerging tobacco and tobacco-related products.
And prohibition of additives and components that confer aromas in tobacco and related products “and that distort the objectives of health regulations or that may be more striking for consumers,” they point out from Health.
This regulatory initiative also aims to offer greater clarity, uniformity and legal certainty in the market for tobacco products and related products, taking into account its development at national and European level.
According to García, plain packaging has proven to be an effective measure to make smoking less attractive, especially for minors.
Generic or neutral packaging for tobacco products consists of simple packaging or packaging in two different colors, which must not incorporate anything other than the brand name, a product name and/or a manufacturer’s name, without logos or other distinctive features apart from health warnings, tax stamps or other mandatory information or labeling. The font type and size are pre-established, as well as the shape, size and materials that are also standardized. There should be no advertising or promotion inside the package or attached to it, or on cigarettes or other units.
Plain packaging, supported by the WHO, is already established in 22 countries in the world, including France, Norway and Denmark. The first to apply it was Australia, in 2012, and according to scientific societies, the studies carried out show that plain packaging and a price increase have managed to reduce the number of smokers by 15%.
“But the effects are not only evident among smokers, but also among those who might be interested in smoking. Since one of the investigations has revealed that plain packaging has considerably decreased the attractiveness of tobacco among the youngest, also increasing the effectiveness of health warning messages and reducing the belief that some cigarettes could be less harmful than others”, point out the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT).
