New images meant to disgust smokers should appear on neutral packets of cigarettes in May. These unpublished illustrations are intended to prevent buyers from getting used to shocking photos at a time when the effectiveness of the neutral packages, introduced last January, is challenged by an increase in cigarette sales.
14 NEW IMAGES ON NEUTRAL PACKETS FROM 20 MAY 2017
Fourteen new images showing very realistically the harmful effects of tobacco will adorn neutral cigarette packs from May 20. Among the new clichés that are emerging to combat the phenomenon are that of the corpse of a man in a coffin, surrounded by his wife and baby. But also the particularly harsh photo of the misshapen tongue of a cancer patient.
Intended to cause disgust in French smokers, these pictures will be used for a year. Because, to remain effective, the photos must continue to shock the buyers of cigarettes. The health authorities want to make sure that they do not get used to the illustrations that pass before their eyes.
« Customers do not care. At first, they sometimes bought caches, now it's completely trivialized », however, notes about these unattractive images the president of the confederation of tobacco dealers Pascal Montredon, quoted by Le Parisien.
Set up in France on January 1, the neutral package, its lack of a logo and its shocking photos continue to be debated while the cigarette sales figures for the first quarter of 2017 raise doubts as to their effectiveness. Indeed, 10,82 billion cigarettes were delivered to tobacconists in France between January 1 and March 31, against 10,67 billion in the same period in 2016, an increase of 1,4% in volume, according to figures from Logista France (Imperial Tobacco group), a company which has a virtual monopoly on the supply of 25 French tobacco shops.
« The neutral package aims to change the image of tobacco, mainly towards younger people. Its impact on consumption will only be seen in the medium or long term »is tempered by the Directorate General of Health.
Officials also note that, as indicated by the data provided by the French Office for Drugs and Drug Addiction, an increase of 29% between February 2016 and February 2017 was observed in sales of products helping to stop smoking, like patches or drugs that contribute to nicotine withdrawal.
Source : Ouest-france.fr
