The Middlesex-London Health Unit and its One Life One You youth advocacy group, are joining forces with local health agencies and young people across Ontario to support plain and standardized tobacco packaging. The campaign, coordinated by Freeze the Industry, a network of youth activists standing against the tobacco industry, is taking to social media to counter the industry’s well-funded effort to halt the implementation of plain and standardized tobacco product packaging legislation in Canada.
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, a single message will blast across social media channels province-wide tomorrow at 12:00 p.m., highlighting the importance of plain and standardized tobacco product packaging and the need to support it.
Called Plain. Simple. Standard., the campaign is using Thunderclap, a “crowd-speaking” social media platform that enables messages to be delivered with much greater impact by allowing a large group of individuals to speak through a single message. The aim is to get as many people as possible to support plain and standardized tobacco packaging in Canada.
“With most forms of tobacco advertising already banned in Canada, tobacco packages have become flashy, mini-billboards designed to build customer loyalty, while reducing the visibility and impact of graphic health warnings,” says Linda Stobo, Tobacco Control and Chronic Disease Prevention Manager at the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “Plain and standardized packaging means all packs, regardless of brand, would be the same colour, with brand names included on the pack in a standardized font; leaving the graphic health warning as the only feature of the package.”
Plain tobacco packaging is already generating positive results in countries including France, Australia and the United Kingdom. Research data shows that plain and standardized packaging discourages young people from starting to smoke; decreases the amount of cigarettes smoked by those who are addicted; increases the recall of health warning labels; promotes quit attempts; and, reduces the risk of relapse in those who have quit. In addition to removing logos, colours and graphics, the size and shape of cigarette packs would also be standardized, prohibiting the production of smaller specialty cigarette packs marketed primarily to women, which reduce the size and effectiveness of graphic health warnings.
When Canadian public consultations on plain packaging began over a year ago, the tobacco industry’s response was to launch aggressive ad campaigns designed to stop the initiative, which is why joining the Plain. Simple. Standard. Thunderclap is so important.
To share this united message at 12 noon, on Wednesday May 31st join the Plain. Simple. Standard. Thunderclap by signing up at: http://bit.ly/2pPAWkJ.
Media Contact:
Dan Flaherty, Communications Manager, Middlesex-London Health Unit
519-663-5317 ext. 2469 or 519-617-0570 (cell.)
Spokesperson:
Linda Stobo, Program Manager, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control, Middlesex-London Health Unit