CYP Now - Boost for children's health at the fag end of this parliament

I've been watching the fag end of this parliament convinced that the coalition government has fallen apart in all but name. You would think that nothing meaningful would be achieved in the run-up to the general election, other than the emission of an even larger volume of hot air than usual, with increasingly extreme rhetoric flying in all directions. So it came as a genuine surprise that Jane Ellison MP, the Conservative public health minister, had laid regulations before parliament for the plain packaging of cigarettes, with a free vote before the election.

While many Conservative MPs are strongly opposed, on the grounds that it is illiberal, that it is anti-business, or that it won't stop people smoking, it seems almost certain that the regulations will be approved. This is absolutely brilliant news for children and young people, as far too many are still taking up smoking, and anything that will reduce the attractiveness of the habit must be a good thing.

Last year, I asked our son Simon, who works in Australia, to send me an example of plain packaging - it is truly gruesome. He found it really difficult to buy, as tobacco products are all hidden away, and without advertising he didn't even know what to ask for. So there are genuine and powerful disincentives to smoking, which is really good for public health. However, this is just one step – as far as I can see, the main difference is the removal of identifiable branding other than in a standardised typeface. Don't forget, either, the powerful economic incentives that drive the black market and counterfeiting.

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