Plain cigarette packaging ‘does not cause problems for shop staff’

An international study supported by Cancer Research UK has demonstrated that selling cigarettes in standardised plain packages would not cause problems for sales staff.

Researchers assessed how long it took shop assistants to identify and retrieve cigarettes in small shops across Australia before and after the rollout of plain packaging in December 2012 in order to evaluate its impact.

Directly after the change was introduced, there was an average increase in the serving time of two to three seconds to around 12.5 seconds, but retailers quickly adapted within two weeks of implementation.

These findings contradict assertions from cigarette manufacturers that plain packaging could confuse shopkeepers, increase queueing times and disrupt business.

Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK's executive director of policy and information, said: "The tobacco industry continues to fight all efforts to reduce the appeal of its lethal product. This measure is not about damaging the UK retail industry at all. It’s about protecting children from a deadly addiction."

Recently, a study by the research charity demonstrated that 65 percent of the British public do not trust tobacco firms to present believable and independent arguments about how to reduce smoking rates.