UK plans to add health alert inserts into cigarette packs

The British government launched a consultation on Monday to seek views on adding health alert inserts inside cigarette packs to encourage more smokers to quit, telling them how they could enhance their life expectancy and save around €2,000 per year if they abandon smoking.

The plan being considered will see inserts into the packaging of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco with positive messages to encourage people to quit and signpost them to advice and support.

The messages will set out the health benefits of quitting smoking – for example, improvements to breathing within a matter of days and a 50 per cent reduction in the risk of heart attack within a year.

They will also show smokers how much money they stand to save by giving up, with the average person likely to save over €2,000 per year if they quit.

“Smoking places a huge burden on the NHS [National Health Service], economy and individuals. It directly causes a whole host of health problems – including cancers and cardiovascular disease – and costs the economy billions every year in lost productivity,” said UK Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

“By taking action to reduce smoking rates and pursuing our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, we will reduce the pressure on the NHS and help people to live healthier lives,” he said.

According to official estimates in the UK, smoking remains the single leading preventable cause of illness and mortality in the country. It results in nearly 4 per cent of all hospital admissions each year – equivalent to almost 450,000 admissions.

Tobacco-related harms are also estimated to cost British taxpayers an estimated €21 billion every year, including over €2 billion in costs to the state-funded NHS.

Although smoking rates in the UK are at an all-time low, the government wants to take further action to cut waiting lists and reduce the burden on the NHS. Introducing pack inserts into all tobacco products in the UK could lead to an additional 30,000 smokers giving up their habit – delivering health benefits worth €1.6 billion.

Such pack inserts are already used in other countries such as Canada and Israel, with Australia also announcing its intention to introduce them.

The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said there is evidence that they can be an effective means of encouraging smokers to quit. An evaluation of the policy’s impact in Canada found that almost one in three smokers had read the inserts at least once in the past month and that those who were exposed to the inserts multiple times were significantly more likely to try to give up smoking.

The DHSC said the consultation this week builds on a package of measures designed to drive the government’s ambition to be smoke-free by 2030 – which means reducing smoking rates to 5 per cent or less.

These include: funding a new national “swap to stop” scheme to offer a million smokers across England a free vaping starter kit, alongside expert support; launching a financial incentive scheme in the form of vouchers and behavioural support to support pregnant women to stop smoking; and a new strategy to combat illicit tobacco, punishing those involved in the illegal market.