Crosbie Eric
School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States; Ozmen Institute for Global Studies, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States.
Health Policy. 2019 Oct;123(10):932-935. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.06.013. Epub 2019 Jul 15.
The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) implementation guidelines recommend that governments adopt plain packaging (also known as standardized packaging (SP)) along with pictorial health warning labels covering 50% or more of the tobacco package. The 2014 revised European Union Tobacco Product Directive also supports EU member states to introduce SP. Following these developments and recommendations, in 2013 the Department of Health launched a "Tobacco Free Ireland" policy which aimed to reduce the smoking prevalence rate to less than 5% by 2025. Tobacco Free Ireland set out 60 recommendations and measures to reach the 2025 target, including introducing SP. Tobacco companies and trademark and intellectual property organizations opposed the SP proposal claiming it would; 1) not work to reduce smoking levels, 2) increase illicit tobacco trade, 3) create unnecessary problems for retailers, and 4) violate domestic and international laws governing trademarks. However leading health groups in Ireland presented evidence on how SP would communicate the harms of tobacco to smokers and discourage young people from beginning to smoke. These efforts combined with strong political will helped Ireland to become the second country in the world to enact standardized packaging for all tobacco products.
世界卫生组织的《烟草控制框架公约》（FCTC）实施指南建议各国政府采用平装包装（也称为标准化包装（SP）），并配以占烟草包装50%或更多面积的图片健康警示标签。2014年修订的欧盟烟草产品指令也支持欧盟成员国引入标准化包装。遵循这些发展趋势和建议，2013年，卫生部发起了一项“无烟爱尔兰”政策，旨在到2025年将吸烟率降至5%以下。“无烟爱尔兰”提出了60项建议和措施以实现2025年的目标，包括引入标准化包装。烟草公司以及商标和知识产权组织反对标准化包装提案，声称这将：1）无法降低吸烟率，2）增加非法烟草贸易，3）给零售商带来不必要的问题，4）违反有关商标的国内和国际法律。然而，爱尔兰的主要健康组织提供了证据，证明标准化包装将如何向吸烟者传达烟草危害，并劝阻年轻人开始吸烟。这些努力加上强烈的政治意愿，帮助爱尔兰成为世界上第二个为所有烟草产品实施标准化包装的国家。
