Neutral package: tobacconists show their opposition

The imbroglio around the plain packet of cigarettes is not about to end. Several dozen tobacconists demonstrated on Tuesday in the city center of Strasbourg. These protests should be the prologue to greater action, national this time around, which should take place on Tuesday. Today, tobacconists have simply decided to present their shelves filled with dummy neutral packages. According to them, this government measure will “disfigure the shelves, degrade the points of sale and increase the distortion of competition, with Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Spain, who refused to put it in place. in place. A measure of which no one has provided proof of its effectiveness in the fight against smoking, ”they explained to France 3 Alsace.

A neutral package to avoid advertising

Indeed, as Marisol Touraine, the Minister of Health, had announced earlier in the year, the neutral package will be compulsory from 2016. The packaging of cigarettes should therefore no longer include a logo from May 2016. The new packaging for these one-size-fits-all packs is chilling with shocking photos showing black lungs, encysted throats and rotten teeth. They will occupy 65% ​​of the area of ​​the package, against 30% currently. Above all, brands will no longer be able to affix their logo or any distinctive sign. As for the typography, it will be standardized, and white, de rigueur for everyone.

In addition, tobacconists are protesting against the € 10 package, a measure also being considered by the country’s health authorities. According to them, this price will promote the emergence of a parallel market which would put their businesses in a more than delicate situation.

As a reminder, hundreds of thousands of people die each year directly or indirectly from tobacco. Among women, mortality has even increased six-fold over the past 30 years. Fortunately, there are many ways to quit smoking, in particular Tabac Info Service, which has just launched its new awareness campaign.