Help protect children from tobacco marketing

Young girl firefighter - extinguishing tobacco marketingFACT: Over 80 per cent of smokers start before the age of 19. 

FACT: Half of all long-term smokers will die of cancer or other smoking-related diseases.

Tobacco advertising has been banned on television, in print and on billboards. Yet children are still regularly exposed to branding on packs and attractive tobacco displays in shops. By removing tobacco from public view and introducing plain packaging, we can reduce the pull towards a potentially deadly addiction.

We know that many young people, particularly underage smokers, buy cigarettes from vending machines. Removing these machines altogether is the only effective means of preventing underage smokers obtaining cigarettes from these sources.

Please join our campaign to help us extinguish tobacco marketing to children.

The Health Bill, which will be voted on in the House of Commons on 12 October, contains a measure to get rid of attractive cigarette displays at the till (or ‘point of sale’) in shops. 

We are also working to get support for amendments that would get rid of cigarette vending machines and bring in reserve powers to introduce plain packaging for all tobacco.

However, in order to get support for the Bill from MPs, we need to ensure that key Government Ministers give their full backing to the Bill and all the measures needed to protect children.

On 12 October 2009 the House of Commons voted to get rid of point of sale displays of tobacco and tobacco vending machines. This legislation with cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is a fantastic move to protect children from tobacco marketing.

The Scottish Parliament will also be discussing similar proposed laws in Autumn and Winter 2009 and we need Members of the Scottish Parliament to know that children in Scotland deserve protection too. We can only change the law if politicians know that people they represent support the campaign. We will continue to update you on progress in Scotland. 

If you get a response from your MP or MSP to your recent emails to them it would be great if you could email it to us or send it by post to the CancerCampaigns Team, Cancer Research UK, FREEPOST WC4066/3, London, WC2A 3BR. Thank you!

For the sake of all children and young people - let’s put tobacco out of sight and out of mind.